Winter Turns to Spring
by Mr. Spinner
Summary: AU. To help Elsa learn about her powers, Pabbie asks a certain "dark fairy" to train the young princess. Said fairy agrees. Follow the royal family of Arendelle as Elsa learns about her gift, Anna plays with a man-shaped raven, and the sisters grow close to the winged Mentor, Maleficent.
1. Chapter 1

**Frozen: Winter Turns to Spring**

For as long as anyone could remember, the Kingdom of Arendelle had been a peaceful place. The last war the nation had experienced was the campaign of King Olaf the Wise to slay an army of wyverns, lithe dragons from the Great North, and free his people from their merciless cruelty. That conflict had led the survivors of the wyverns' tyranny to join and create the nation marked by the crocus flower. And that had been almost eight hundred years ago.

Such were the bitter thoughts of Agnarr, King of Arendelle, as he clutched his daughter Elsa to his chest, pushing his horse to the limits of its speed through the forested foothills of the Dragon's Maw, the chain of mountains that surrounded the capital city of Arendelle and extended through the middle of the nation like the spine of the peninsula.

Even as he scolded himself for his complacency with the supernatural, a lesson his late father had warned him of many times, he tried to keep up an appearance of calm. Agnarr could feel Elsa trembling in his arms, no doubt ready to fall apart with fear for her sister. Therefore, the king tried to keep himself calm, to wordlessly reassure his eldest child. _We will fix this_ , he told himself. _We have to_.

Agnarr glanced back at his queen, who in turn clutched their youngest daughter Anna. The fear in Iduna's eyes told him that her condition had not changed. Agnarr tried to look at the bright side of this; no change meant that she hadn't gotten worse. The king glanced at the parchment clutched in his hand, a map to their possible saviors, and glanced at the sky to gauge their location by the stars. They were close!

As the king and queen lashed their horses to move faster, they failed to notice a young boy on a sled, pulled by a young reindeer. The boy followed their progress with his gaze before he noticed something else; a trail of frost that had formed in their wake. "Ice?" the boy asked out loud. The king and queen never saw the boy follow on his reindeer.

Only a few minutes later, the king and queen passed through the mists of the site known to some as the Valley of Living Rock. They reined their horses in and dismounted, hoping they hadn't frightened or offended the creatures that lived here.

"Please help!" Agnarr cried out, only a slight waver of desperation in his voice. "My daughter," he pleaded. A handful of moments later, and the small boulders that dotted the stone valley began to roll closer, approaching the royals. Agnarr pulled Elsa close to him and her mother, hoping to reassure her. He himself wasn't entirely sure of this plan; the Fae Folk in all their forms could be hard to predict. But it was the only plan they had.

As the small boulders drew nearer, they began to unfurl to reveal strange creatures. Short and stout, with skin of grey stone and wispy hair, their eyes bright with intelligence. The creatures were dressed in clothes of moss and vines, strands of crystals looped around their necks, wrists, and ankles. These were the trolls. "It's the king," one of them said in awe, causing the others to begin whispering to each other.

The trolls parted in the wake of another, this one with a mane of grass-like hair and a cape of moss around his shoulders. The crystals that crossed his body were yellow, rather than blue, green, or pink. According to the book Agnarr's grandfather had written, this was Grand Pabbie, the chieftain and shaman of the trolls.

"Your Majesty," Pabbie greeted formally before taking Elsa's hand in a grip. "Born with the powers, or cursed?" he asked.

"Born," Agnarr answered surely, unwilling to ever associate his little Elsa with a curse. "And they're getting stronger," he added. Pabbie nodded and gestured for Anna, next. Iduna knelt and presented her to the shaman. Pabbie placed his fingers against her forehead, his eyes closed in concentration, before looking at them a mere moment later.

"You were lucky it wasn't her heart," he surmised. "The heart is not so easily changed … but," he shrugged, "the head can be persuaded."

"Do what you must," Agnarr said. Pabbie touched Anna's forehead and waved his hand, showing images from her memories in a field of Northern Lights.

"I recommend we remove all magic, even-" The shaman paused mid-thought. In another life, Pabbie would have removed even memories of magic, leaving only Anna's memories of fun with her older sister. But this was not that time. In this time, Pabbie hesitated as another idea came to mind. Acting on this flash of intuition, he nodded to himself and returned Anna's memories with a weary sigh.

"She will be okay?" he assured with a grandfatherly smile.

"Will she remember anything about this?" Elsa asked. Few knew now, but Elsa was quite bright for her age, and she had seen the troll bring out her sister's memories.

"The memory of the incident will be fuzzy," Pabbie admitted, "but otherwise, she will remember perfectly." Pabbie looked to Elsa. "Now listen to me, Elsa. Your power will only grow." To illustrate, Pabbie began to weave a tapestry of the Skylights, creating an image of a grown Elsa using her powers. "There is beauty in it," he assured, "but also great danger." The images turned red, drawing a gasp from the young princess. "You must learn to control it," he explained, and seized upon his earlier insight to form a plan.

"And I have an idea for how you can do so." The images faded away and Pabbie turned to the royal family. "I would recommend a mentor to help you learn, to understand your powers."

"Can you not, Grand Pabbie?" Iduna asked, her brow knitted in confusion.

"I would not be best suited for this task," Pabbie admitted sheepishly. "I am old and know much, but my kind are too different from humans to effectively teach her. And while all fae kind are … different from humanity, some are closer than others." Pabbie placed a hand to his chin as his idea unfolded into a true plan. A plan centered around a single name.

"Return home, you majesties," he urged. "I will search for a suitable mentor for the princess." Agnarr lifted an eyebrow at that statement.

"Search?" he asked. Pabbie nodded in affirmation.

"I have an idea, but I will need time to contact them. In the meantime, return home and take care of Anna. She will have a headache when she wakes." Agnarr and Iduna looked to each other and nodded, thanking the troll chieftain for his help. Elsa thanked him as well and gave a curtsy, just as her tutors had taught her.

As they left the Valley, escorted by the crowd of trolls, Anna began to stir in Iduna's arms. She cracked her eyes open, her vision returning to focus, and saw a small boy with blond hair being fussed over by a … a troll? As the royals passed, the boy looked up to the family, his gaze locking with Anna's. Even with her headache, Anna smiled to him. The boy smiled back and gave a small wave.

As the royals mounted to their horses and began the journey back to Arendelle, Elsa's thoughts were overrun with questions. What "mentor" would Pabbie be contacting? What kind of magic would they have? And would they be kind or cruel? Elsa hugged herself as she wondered and nuzzled into her father, who rubbed her back to reassure her.

As Pabbie watched the royal family of Arendelle depart, his thoughts turned back to his nominal plan. How on Earth would he convince that particular fae to help this princess? Pabbie shook his head to clear his thoughts. First things first, make contact.

* * *

Maleficent, Defender and Former-Queen of the Moors, knew she was dreaming. And, in all, she didn't care. It had been seven years since she had reclaimed her wings with the aide of her goddaughter, seven years since Stephan had been defeated and overthrown (both literally and figuratively).

And even with all of that time, she savored every moment that she could fly, whether awake or asleep.

 _In her dream, Maleficent laughed, really laughed, as she was knocked aside by a gust of wind. The clouds were dark like pitch, glowing with flashes of lightning. Roars of thunder echoed across the skies, unbuffered by distance. And the winds were scattered and chaotic._

 _Maleficent was unafraid. Her magic would protect her from lightning and noise. Strikes may hurt, but no too much. Just enough to spur her on. Maleficent was the last of her kind, a species of fae whose name had been long lost. But until she died, her race would remain rulers of the skies. And no storm would change that._

 _Maleficent grinned and darted forward on a swell, ready to tackle the rage of nature, to prove that she was still queen of the blue and black skies. She braced herself for resistance, for buffeting winds and blinding rain …_

 _And tumbled to the ground in a Changed dream. Maleficent skipped along stony forest floor until she came to a stop, lifting herself with a groan as her bruises and scrapes visibly mended themselves. She flapped her wings and folded them; clearly, whoever had done this wanted her to stay put. And while she was not afraid, anyone who could Change her dreams without her consent was at least worthy of caution._

 _A faint rumbling drew the fae's attention to a small boulder covered in moss, gently rolling toward her in the shadow of the trees around her. The boulder unfurled to reveal a face she knew not, but a magic that she did. This figure, in his cape of moss and golden gems around his neck, was a figure of wisdom and respect._

 _The most powerful of troll-shaman. The chieftain of the Northern Trolls, said to be among the most ancient of the fae. Grand Pabbie of the Living Valley._

" _Greetings, Defender," Pabbie said, a kind smile on his face. Maleficent narrowed her eyes, a look that would make most creatures, even some of the most powerful fae, tremble in fear. Pabbie remained unaffected._

" _Chieftain," she greeted shortly. Maleficent was not pleased at having her dreams invaded, but age meant much in the hierarchy of the Fae Races. And Pabbie's age, if nothing else, earned him at least a minimum of respect. And considering his reputation, it would not be wise to anger him. "Why are you here?"_

" _I have a favor to ask of you," Pabbie replied. That caught Maleficent's interest. Humans may have … exaggerated the fae's fascination with deals, but every story was grown around a grain of truth. Favors were sacred to the fae, as was their word. For this troll she had never met, no matter how old or powerful, to ask a favor was everything but expected. Not to mention intriguing._

" _And what, pray tell, would this 'favor' be?" she asked. Pabbie didn't respond immediately. He simply looked at her, examining her in the way only those with untold experience could. Maleficent began to fidget despite herself under the scrutiny of his gaze._

" _The royals that live near the Valley have had an incident involving magic," he explained. Maleficent grit her teeth at the mention of royals, her tensing jaw the only outward sign of her internal struggle. Images of King Henri and Stephan, the most ruthless and cruel of tyrants, warred with her care for Aurora and her husband Philip, two of the most gentle souls she had ever met._

" _What incident?" she asked, curiosity piqued even with her turmoil. Hopefully no foolish young fae had heard of her own exploits and decided to curse this family out of mischief or revenge. If so, she would have no part of it._

" _The eldest princess of Arendelle, princess Elsa, has been blessed from birth with the magic of winter. Her birth … eight years ago." Had she been awake, Maleficent would still have felt her jaw drop. He was referring to the Winter Alignment, an event that was legendary even among the fae. Once every thousand years, the planets most associated with ice, known to humans as Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, aligned with the moon in such a way as to warp the very fabric of nature itself. This event, and others like it, would create unpredictable phenomena that were otherwise impossible to reproduce. Things that strained the very limits of magic itself._

" _I take it this child's birth was not your 'incident'," she quipped. Pabbie chuckled before adopting a solemn expression._

" _Last night, young Elsa was playing with her younger sister. Anna placed herself in danger, her faith in Elsa blinding her of the consequences. In her panic, Elsa struck Anna with her powers. I have repaired the damage to young Anna's mind, but Elsa has been shaken by this event, her faith in her powers broken." Pabbie sighed and wove his fingers._

" _I would ask of you your expertise in humanity, to teach this young princess how to control her powers." There it was. The request itself. Maleficent turned her back to Pabbie, her wings drawing further in like a protective embrace while her narrowed eyes darting back and forth as she considered his request._

 _She had a feeling that Pabbie would have taught the girl himself if he could, but his mentioning of her "experience" implied that he lacked a certain compatibility with humans. The further a fae was from the appearance of a human, the more divergent their thinking became; the very nature of their thoughts was insurmountably different. It was a mark of Pabbie's power and skill that he, a troll, could manipulate human memories as easily as his own._

 _If Maleficent agreed, she would have a chance to learn. Knowledge was as valuable as anything to the fae, like gold and jewels were to humans. And not only would she learn of this Elsa child's unique magic, she would have a legitimate reason to travel. While the so-called "dark" fairy loved the Moors, she had always wanted to see other places. And she could teach, something she had always wanted to try her hand at._

 _But if she left, she would see very little of her goddaughter. Aurora was strong and capable, wise far beyond her years and well-liked by her people and the surrounding nations. But Maleficent was the Moors' Defender; it was her responsibility to protect them. Not to mention Maleficent would likely be gone for some time; she would miss many formative years of Aurora and Phillip's young daughter, Briar Rose._

 _Maleficent turned to address the troll shaman. "When do you need an answer?" she asked. Pabbie smiled kindly, pleased at her answer. While it wasn't confirmation, it wasn't an outright "no"._

" _Within the week would be more than sufficient," he answered. With that, Pabbie bowed, impressively low for his small stature. "Until we meet again, young Defender." With that, Pabbie crumbled into gravel, which faded into mist._

Maleficent gasped as she awoke, just as the dawn began breaking over the horizon. She swallowed thickly and sat up in her hammock, strung between the branches of her childhood home, her tree overhanging the cliff. The fae rolled from her perch and fell into the open air, spreading her wings to level off her descent.

Maleficent cracked a faint grin at the distant cry of a raven from her servant-turned-companion Diaval, as he gave chase. Her grin faded as she focused on her journey to the distant castle of her godchild. The dark fairy needed wisdom, and Aurora, despite her tender age of twenty-three (as humans measured time), was just the person to speak to.

* * *

Aurora, Queen of the Moors and the Kingdom of Soleil for seven years, giggled as she watched Briar Rose tumble through the wildflowers of the castle estate, a beautifully-wrought wooden staff in her hand. Rose had turned three less than a month ago and the staff was Maleficent's gift to the girl, a rod of magically-shaped red rowan capped with a spiral. For the last week, Rose hadn't let it out of her sight as she imitated her god-grandmother.

As if summoned by her train of thought, a shadow swooped over the fields, revealing Maleficent herself. The dark fae (Aurora truly wished that title would fade away, even as she admitted that it wasn't unearned) elegantly shook herself as she folded her wings, removing a twig from her cuff that grew into her own oaken staff in a haze of golden light.

Aurora laughed and rushed to grip her godmother in a hug, which was reservedly returned. Bell-like laughter heralded Rose's arrival as she crashed into Maleficent's shins, babbling about "Mally". Maleficent couldn't help the wide smile that graced her features, reminded as she always was of Aurora at that age. Even if she hadn't admitted it to herself then, she had deeply believed that Aurora had been a lovely child.

"Aurora," Maleficent said, her tone decidedly somber, "can we talk?" Aurora blinked at her godmother's request, but nodded. Maleficent snapped her fingers, turning the arriving Diaval into his human form. The bird-turned-man tumbled the last few feet to the ground with a thud, lifting himself up to pout at his former mistress. A pout that was rapidly changed to laugh as Briar Rose was distracted by "Birdy" and the two began playing.

After the pair had moved some distance away, Aurora turned a concerned look upon her fairy godmother. "Maleficent, is something wrong?" She had a feeling something was, but she had always felt it was always polite to ask before delving into it. Maleficent clicked a nail on her staff as she thought over how best to explain.

"An ancient fae from far to the north contacted me last night," she began. "He asked for my aid in teaching a young princess born with powerful magic." Aurora's brows shot up in surprise before she grinned.

"That's-" her smiled faded as she realized something. "You don't want to go?"

"What I desire is not the problem," Maleficent assured. "You of all people know I have always wanted to do some traveling." Especially after she had reclaimed her wings. The sixteen years without them had been heartrending, but also eye-opening. No one, not even the most powerful of fae, could know what the future held. If she was to travel at all, she would need to do it whenever the chance presented itself.

"Then what is the problem?" Aurora asked kindly.

"I don't want to leave my home unprotected," Maleficent said. "Or my family." Ever since her parents had died, very few had moved into Maleficent's heart. Aurora and Diaval, and then Phillip and finally Briar Rose were, to her, the family she had never had. Aurora smiled with understanding.

"We'll be fine, godmother," she assured. "You need to take some time to yourself. Go and fly the world. And if you can help someone along the way, all the better." Maleficent gave a half-smile at her goddaughter's words. Really, she should have known that Aurora would encourage her.

Maleficent looked to the horizon, her mind turning over the arrangements she would have to make before she left. She would have to strengthen the protective enchantments around the castle, determine and appoint a temporary Defender for her absence, perhaps create more personal protections for Aurora and her family … Maleficent brushed that all aside when Briar Rose tugged on the skirt of her dress, asking for her to "do the magic".

Maleficent grinned and prepared herself to acquiesce. She would make the arrangements later.

* * *

Three days later, Maleficent finished the small bag Aurora had provided her for travel. The fae could make most of what she would need, but the queen had been insistent upon giving her hand-sized portraits of the royal family, as well as a few other odds and ends. Including a copy of the royal records pertaining to the nation she was to visit, the mysterious Arendelle.

As she finished, Diaval simply slumped against the trunk of a tree. He, frankly, was not relishing the thought of a country known for its freezing winters. But, he had also recently learned that the country traditionally respected his own species, believing ravens to be symbols of wisdom and guides for the dead. And apparently, the second-born princess was quite young, young enough to play with. In the years he had entertained Aurora as a child, as well as his time with Briar Rose, he had come to enjoy the exhausting task.

Maleficent's approach drew him from his thoughts and he shot her a wry grin as he straightened up. "Ready to meet your charge?" he asked. Maleficent merely rolled her eyes, a flick of her fingers turning him into his true form. The pair took of and angled north.

Arendelle, the land of the crocus, was waiting.

 **Hello readers! Got another new story set up. Many have pointed out the similarities between Frozen and Maleficent, as have I. And I decided to have a little writer's-fun with it. The main focus of this will be Maleficent guiding Elsa to master her powers with no cataclysmic backlash. If you have certain scenes or methods that you want to see, PM me. I'm NOT PROMISING that it will show up, but inspiration can come from anywhere.**

 **For those curious about the name: it comes from a line from the "Brother Bear" trailer. In this case, "turning to" refers to "turning for help". And "spring" can mean either Maleficent (whose magic revolves heavily around plant-life) or Anna (who will not be separated from her sister here). Or maybe both. Take your pick on that.**

 ***The reference to "Olaf the Wise" is inspired by the famed Olaf II of Norway, a king of Norway on the precipice of the 10th and 11th centuries. He was the first Christian king of Norway and was later canonized as a Catholic saint, St. Olaf. ***In this, he's the first member of Elsa and Anna's family line and the in-universe inspiration for Olaf the snowman's name.**

 **Hope you all like this! More to come!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

As the sun began to peek out from behind the mountains, it cast its light upon the royal family of Arendelle waiting, facing the fjord on one of the few narrow stretches of land beyond the castle walls. Pabbie had sent word through a crystal, delivered by a bluebird, that Elsa's mysterious "Mentor" would be arriving on this day. He had assured the king and queen that she was not dangerous, but should be treated with respect.

To Elsa, this explanation only made her nervous. She didn't fear Pabbie, she trusted him, but she had actually _seen_ him. This Mentor was a complete unknown. Elsa was quite bright, in fact she had been called a "child genius" by her tutors in hushed whispers. Se had read many of the books on the fae and their kinds as she learned to read, and reread them in recent days. According to the books, the fae races were different from humans, both in body and in mind. Their priorities and reasoning were different, their cultures often impossible to understand completely.

Frankly, this was not reassuring to the young princess.

Anna, on the other hand, was ecstatic to meet her big sister's new Mentor. Mama and Papa had said this person was a fairy who would teach Elsa more about her powers. That had to mean that the Mentor had magic, too! And to Anna, more magic could be nothing but good.

As the sun continued to rise, the family continued to wait. Anna, ever the little ball of energy, began to fidget. Agnarr and Iduna let it pass, knowing full-well that they wouldn't be able to stop her for more than a few moments. Anna continued to swing her arms, to sway her hips, to tap her toes in the grass, anything to burn off her innate need to _move_. And, like a candle being blown out, her movement stopped as she felt something … strange overtake her. A feeling like a tingle running up her back. On instinct, the young princess looked up to see a dark speck in the sky.

"Look!" Anna pointed at the thing in the sky. Her family followed her gesture, Agnarr narrowing his eyes in thought. That was no hawk or falcon, it proportions were wrong. So … it had to be the "Mentor" that Pabbie had told them would come. Agnarr squared his shoulders, posture straight as an arrow and stance firm but relaxed, just as he would present for any foreign dignitary. Loose enough to not cause offense, but strong enough to show he was not to be trifled with.

The shape dove through the air, growing as it drew nearer. Finally, the shape halted in the air, flapping its wings to abate its movement before slamming to the ground a half-dozen feet away in a crouch that sent dust flying, its body hidden behind its massive feathered wings.

Those great wings, spiked with the thumb-claws of a bat, drew away to reveal the sight of a handsome brunette woman with pale skin and sharp cheekbones. Her eyes were an unnaturally vibrant green. She was dressed in a simple brown dress, though wellmade. But her most jarring feature, aside from the wings, were the pair of curved horns that grew from her head.

Agnarr bowed his head, Iduna giving a low curtsey to the fae woman. Elsa copied her mother's motion in an elegant gesture, while Anna more bounced with her skirts splayed than curtseyed. "Greetings, honored Mentor," Agnarr said, using the term Pabbie had given them. Though the king had asked for a name, Pabbie had explained that it was traditional for the fae to give their own names.

"Your Majesties," the fae replied with a slow blink, "I am Maleficent of the Moors." The name drew a gasp from Iduna and grunt from Agnarr, both familiar with the young legend of the Sleeping Beauty. However, unlike many far-off lands that had heard the tale, the monarchs of Arendelle had also embraced the truth that the so-called "dark fairy" had returned to being a force for good. Even still, the tale of a curse laid on a princess hit a little close to home.

"You have no need to fear me," Maleficent assured. "I gave Grand Pabbie my word that I would train young Elsa," her gaze flicked to the pale-haired princess before returning to her parents, "and I shall do so with utmost care."

The fae's attention was drawn down by the sound of tiny footsteps. The younger princess, Anna, looked up at her with fascination in her teal eyes. A sense of familiarity settled upon Maleficent, her thoughts drawn to a nearly-identical situation eighteen years earlier.

"You're not going to ask me to pick you up, are you?" she asked dryly. Anna simply giggled.

"Can I feel your horns?" she asked brightly.

"Anna!" Iduna scolded, approaching with deceptive speed and kneeling down to address her youngest, "that's very rude!" Iduna lifted Anna into her arms and stood back up. "I'm sorry about that. Anna tends to act before she thinks."

"It's quite alright," Maleficent assured. "I've actually had that asked before by a girl her age." Iduna's eyebrow quirked in question before she let it pass and retreated back to her family. A loud bird's croak interrupted any further small talk, a raven preparing to land. Maleficent flicked her wrist and, in a flash of golden mist, the bird transfigured into a dark-haired man.

"This is Diaval, my companion," she introduced. The raven-man, Diaval, gave an elegant bow. The man's eyebrows rose at the sight of the redheaded princess, or rather the awestruck look on her face. He snorted a laugh and winked at her, drawing a giggle from the little girl.

At the same time, Maleficent glanced at her new charge warily watching from beside her father. Maleficent stretched her senses, those beyond that of humans, toward the girl in an attempt to gain some early understanding of her powers. As her threads of magic connected to the girl, Maleficent gave a start, taking a half-step back with wide eyes.

"Lady Maleficent," Agnarr said, noticing her seemingly-sudden movement, "is something wrong?" Before the king had finished his inquiry, Maleficent had regained her composure.

"Nothing is wrong, Sir King," she answered guardedly. "I am simply tired from my journey." Many tales and fragments of lore spoke of the fact that the fae races could not lie. This was not strictly true. Fairies were more than capable of lying, but within their cultures (at least the higher-tier ones) it was considered a heinous act. That is, outright lying was considered such. Half-truths and misdirections were readily permissible. And that is what Maleficent had done. Yes, she was tired, but that was not why she had reacted so.

"Perhaps you would like to rest, Lady Maleficent," Iduna said with a kind smile and gestured to the stone-hewn steps that led into the castle. "We can have rooms for you and Sir Diaval prepared as soon as possible."

"That won't be necessary," Maleficent replied. "The forests across the fjord will do just fine." The dark fairy's words drew curiosity from the monarchs, but they chose, quite wisely, to leave it be. Fairies were different from humans; who were they to judge her choice of residence?

"I shall begin Elsa's lessons tomorrow at noon," Maleficent continued, casting her gaze over the fjord and the distant forest for a suitable site. "Across the fjord," she decided, "near that pair of large boulders on the shore." She pointed out the site, looking to Elsa rather than her parents. The princess looked from the site to her new Mentor and nodded, both trepidation and resolve in her eyes.

"At noon, then," Agnarr agreed. Maleficent turned Diaval back into a raven and took off to explore the forest that would, for the foreseeable future, be her home. Anna giggled as the backdraft from Maleficent's wings washed over her. A sudden vision of Elsa with wings of ice flashed across her mind's eye, making her smile all the wider.

"I like her!" Anna cried out, running toward Elsa and grabbing her hands. "She's great! I'm so happy for you, Elsa!" Elsa couldn't help but smile at Anna's energy, a smile that quickly wilted as she felt the rise of her icy magic. Elsa pulled away and folded her arms across her stomach. Anna stepped back with a blank look and sadness in her eyes. She knew why Elsa did this, but it didn't mean she had to like how distant she was now. But that was why Maleficent was here! The thought brought the smile back to Anna's face.

"What do you think she'll teach you first?" Anna asked excitedly, before quickly rattling off a solid dozen ideas in a single breath. Elsa only smiled at Anna's enthusiasm, the sheer innocence washing away her anxiety over her upcoming lessons. Or, at least most of it.

As the princesses ascended the steps to return to the castle proper, their parents followed slowly. Both Agnarr and Iduna were unsure how exactly to feel about Maleficent. Granted, they had little to go on, but both royals had always prided themselves on divining accurate first impressions. But Maleficent … she was utterly alien to them, and neither of them knew what to make of her.

But, it was Grand Pabbie who had arranged for her to teach their daughter, a task that the dark fairy was by no means compelled to accept. (At least, as far as they were willing to assume. Pabbie didn't seem like the type to threaten anyone.) The fact that Maleficent had accepted the task should speak volumes about her.

But Agnarr and Iduna were still hesitant. Perhaps it was some underlying suspicion of the fae kind in general, perhaps it was an innate sense about Maleficent herself, but they were not totally at ease with the fae woman. But Elsa needed a teacher, and Maleficent seemed to be the only practical candidate.

With a single shared glance, the king and queen came to a decision. Until such a time that Maleficent showed ulterior motives, they would trust the winged fae with their daughter's well being. And keep their eyes open for any signs of danger.

* * *

High in the mountains, Maleficent stood on a cliff overlooking the fjord, the castle quite visible from her vantage. From this distance, she would remain unseen and be able to sense any disturbances from Elsa's magic, should such an occasion arise.

Maleficent removed a seedling from her dress and flicked it to land in a crack set in the cliff. With a deep breath, she focused her magic into tendrils of golden light that cascaded into the crack and into the seed, nourishing it and encouraging growth. Not a minute later, a green sapling sprung from the crevice, growing into a young tree. Maleficent flicked her other wrist to spread magic into the cliff face itself, strengthening the stone against the rapidly-growing tree's roots.

Within moments, Maleficent cut off her magic and smiled up at a fully-matured rowan tree that hung over the cliff. It wasn't her childhood home, but it was close. A flick of magic grew offshoots between two of the highest branches, forming a woven nook for sleeping. And with that done, Maleficent swopped up and into her tree to relax after her journey.

As the dark fairy breathed, deeply and rhythmically, her thoughts turned to her pupil. From what little she observed of the girl, Pabbie's observations were spot-on. They may even have understated the problem. Elsa was visibly, even to a fae, wracked with guilt over the accident. That fear had caused her to close herself off from everyone around her in order to prevent another incident.

But Maleficent was certain that the princess's magic was deeply rooted in her emotions. Primordial magics such as hers often were. Emotions held great power for any sentient race, but for humans especially. Fairies thrived off of the use of their emotions, but it was their minds, their intellects, that made them unique. It was what gave them strength as much as the emotions that stemmed from them. The fae races were immortal, or at least very close to it, and therefore had the time to think and plan for far longer in advance than mortal creatures.

But humans were different. They were just as sentient as the fae, but they thrived on a totally different mindset. Humans could think and plan just as well as the fae, at least in the short-term. But it was the power of their hearts, their fear and anger to help them survive, their hope and joy to keep those lives worth living. And above all their innate capacity for pure, unconditional _love_ , the most powerful of forces, that even the most emotional of fairies could not match.

Elsa's magic was clearly connected to her base emotions and her self-perception. She had seen herself as a good influence on Anna, had loved herself and everyone around her, and her powers had reflected that mindset with beauty and gentleness. But now her perceptions had been shaken. She now viewed herself as a danger, and that very love for others, the inherent desire to keep them safe that was a part of her, had pushed her to an unhealthy and dangerous state of mind.

How Maleficent had gathered all of this from a brief conversation and even briefer meeting, even she couldn't say for sure. Maleficent had always been intuitive. Perhaps it was, in part, the similarities to her own past; the loss of something that made them who they were. Maleficent her wings, Elsa her self-trust.

In the end, all of this made Maleficent want to help the girl, regardless of her agreement with Pabbie.

As she settled upon that, Maleficent's thoughts turned over to the other princess, Anna. The dark fae had not missed the streak of white among the child's strawberry locks. A remnant of the incident, no doubt. Pabbie was powerful, but even his skill was only so much against the very nature of winter. Maleficent briefly considered any possible side effects of Anna's exposure to pure winter magic before brushing it aside. If they were present, they would reveal themselves in time.

As Maleficent began to consider her actual first lesson, she opened her eyes to find the sun beginning to kiss the horizon of the fjord. She smiled, really smiled as she rarely did, at the beauty of the sunset.

As she was absorbed in the sight, Diaval returned from his own observations. As the raven settled into a branch that he would soon have to build into a genuine nest, he thought over what he had learned during his former-mistress's musings.

* * *

As the sun had begun its descent toward the horizon, Anna played with her dolls. She sighed as she felt a pang of sorrow at Elsa's absence. Anna had tried to get Elsa to play with her again, even without her magic, but Elsa had been adamant in saying no. She said that without control, she was "too dangerous". Elsa, dangerous? Ha! Anna was fine after the accident! And what was it that one of the captains always said to papa? "What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger."

Did this mean Anna was stronger? As the young princess considered this, her line of thought was broken by a light _tapping_ noise at her window. Anna looked up and smiled at the sight of Miss Maleficent's bird tapping at the window glass. What was his name, again? Oh, yeah - Diaval!

Anna dropped her dolls and bolted to the window, knocking lightly in answer. The bird ruffled its feathers and gave a few hops to the left before fluttering away in the same direction. Anna giggled and left her room, running to the balcony that was close to it.

Anna skipped out onto the balcony to find Diaval waiting for her, head cocked. The raven took a deep breath, chest swelling like a rooster, and leapt forward. In a flash of silvery light, Diaval landed in a crouch on the balcony … in his human form. Diaval stood and looked at his hands with wide eyes, a slight chuckle escaping his lips, before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and he collapsed to the stone floor.

Anna gasped and knelt down to check on the familiar. After a few moments, Diaval's eyes shot open and he lurched into a sitting position, hissing with discomfort as he rubbed his forehead. He opened his eyes just a bit, squinting at the late-morning light that seemed to hurt his eyes, and glanced at Anna with a faint grin.

"Apologies for frightening you, princess," he said, "but that was the first time I've ever done that on my own." Quickly getting over her fear for the bird-man, Anna grinned in wonder at what she had just seen.

"How did you do that?" she asked excitedly. Earlier, it had appeared that Maleficent had been the one to change him into his human form. "Why was it the first time? Why did you do it now? Oh wait, you wouldn't be able to talk unless you didn't, but that-" Anna's feasibly-endless string of questions was interrupted by Diaval's finger against her lips.

"In order," he began, "I did that by tapping into just a bit of my Mistress's magic." While Diaval was free of his debt to Maleficent and the service that went along with it, he had kept the loose title of "Mistress" for her. For no other reason than it was more dramatic than the term "friend" or "colleague". Well, there was another reason, but he chose not to acknowledge that to himself.

"I have never done it before," he continued, "because I had not as strong a connection to my Mistress, nor any real inclination to do so." The term "familiar" was far more that an animal companion. Familiars, whether bound to a fae or a human mage, were imprinted with the magic of their caretaker. It was a bond of spiritual energy, one that Maleficent had forged upon first turning him into a man. The connection had been tenuous at first, just as all new things are, but had slowly grown over the sixteen years before Aurora's curse had fully taken hold. After Maleficent had reclaimed her wings and made peace with herself, her freedom of spirit had nurtured that bond far more strongly, magnifying its growth over the last seven years. And that resilient bond allowed Diaval to, in very small doses, tap into Maleficent's magic for things he was familiar with.

And no spell was more familiar to him than that of turning from bird to man, and vice versa.

"And as for the last question, you answered that one yourself," he finished with a grin and removed his finger from her lips. "If I may, young princess, try to wait for an answer to your first question before asking any others. You'll get more answers that way." Anna giggled at Diaval's jest, her head turning to the side as she thought of one more question.

"Why did you come to visit?" she asked innocently.

"Two reasons," Diaval said, holding up an index finger. "One, I wanted to meet you for real. We didn't get a chance to talk earlier, and I have a feeling we'll be spending a lot of time together in the future." He held up his second finger, "Two, I wanted to ask what you think of my Mistress."

Anna's eyebrows shot up at the unexpected question before she broke out a large smile that made her turquoise eyes sparkle. "She's amazing!" Anna shouted. "She's tall with those big wings and horns, but she looks like anyone else!" Anna's smile fell into a concerned frown as she thought of something else. "But she seems all stiff and proper and dull, too," Anna added lowly. "But she's so strong," she shouted, her smile back, "I could feel it in my tummy! She's strong and wise and she'll teach Elsa all she needs so that we can play together again!" With that, Anna fell backward onto the ground with a huff, thinking about the time when Elsa would play with her again. Because for her, it wasn't a matter of "if" - it was only "when".

Diaval processed all of this slowly, especially that little bit about the princess "feeling" how strong Maleficent was. Like his Mistress, Diaval had a feeling that there was now, more than ever, more to Anna than met the eye. The princess was merely five years old, easily young enough for her spirit to be affected by magic. And the girl had been, for lack of a better word, touched by both primal winter magic and the shamanism of the trolls within hours of each other.

Diaval had seen much during his time with Maleficent, and no small amount of that had been how fairy magic could affect the environment around it. Even, in certain not-all-that-rare circumstances, human beings. Diaval had heard stories of the strange attributes, both physical and spiritual, that fae magics had caused. Whether by carelessness (most fae tended not to be too concerned with how their actions affected strangers) or genuine mischief (another common and very well-chronicled trait of many fae), the effects were often, in their own way, quite powerful. Said victims were often ostracized by their fellow humans, whether outright cast out or simply kept at arm's length.

And, if Diaval was reading the situation right, Anna had now become one of these "affected". And since Maleficent would be busy with Elsa, it seemed it would fall to Diaval to discern Anna's "condition" and help her, if necessary, to control it. Well, no harm, really. He was going to be entertaining her anyway. This just added a new angle to it.

Diaval stood up, prompting Anna to do the same. "How about we talk some more tomorrow, princess? Since my mistress and your sister will be busy, I offer my services as a substitute playmate. If you'll have me." Diaval bowed in a practiced, courtly gesture, his wide grin showing that it was in jest. Anna smiled and curtsied her bouncy way in return.

"I can't wait!" the princess shouted. Diaval laughed and tensed up, taking a breath and bracing himself. In a flash of silvery light, he was back to his true form, flying in a circle with happy cries. He landed on the balcony rail and nodded before taking off toward the mountains.

After watching Diaval depart, Anna turned and raced back into the castle and through the halls to Elsa's room. Dangerous or not (she was adamant in the "not") Anna had to tell Elsa about Diaval. She had a new friend, just as Elsa had a new teacher that, undoubtedly, would also soon be a new friend! This was the best day ever.

"Elsa," Anna called excitedly. She knocked on the blue-painted door with their own secret knock …

* * *

As Diaval settled in for the night, he couldn't help but crow in excitement at what was to come. Surely the coming days would, if nothing else, be entertaining.

 **New Chapter. How's it going so far? Lots of worldbuilding here - I wanted to establish a few things at the beginning. Plus, as you know if you've read my other works, I just LOVE worldbuilding.**

 **Next time, we get to see Elsa's first lesson!**

 **For those of you who are wondering, the place where the royal family first meets Maleficent is the place where Elsa fled the castle and crossed the fjord in the movie, where the Eternal Winter really started. It was the only place we've seen of the castle grounds; plus I like the symbolism.**

 **If any of you have a specific lesson/teaching method you want to see, PM me or leave a comment. I'm not guaranteeing it will go in, but inspiration can come from anywhere. Ditto if any of you want to see a younger Hans.**

 **Leave a review, guys! It keeps me motivated! Carry on, readers, carry on!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

As the sun climbed to its zenith, Crown Princess Elsa clutched her hands to her chest, kneading her fingers together in a near-desperate bid to relax. Across from her sat a large serving man from her father's staff, his skin sunbaked into leather and his mouth and chin hidden in a thick salt-and-pepper beard.

The serving man made no sounds, not in greeting when she had arrived, nor as he worked the rowboat that took them both across the fjord to the site her Mentor had pointed out the day before. Finally, their tiny boat climbed into the sand of the shoreline and the serving man carefully climbed out to drag the boat to the side for her to hop onto land without getting wet.

As Elsa climbed out of the boat and stared at the wilderness before her, she heard the servant clear his throat. She turned to look at him, still hugging herself. The servant took a deep breath and let it out, his hands moving to demonstrate. Elsa swallowed and took her own deep breath and exhale, and found that she felt just a little bit better. The serving man grunted and nodded in approval.

Elsa's head shot up at the sound of heavy wingbeats to see Maleficent descending to land in a crouch with a muted _thud_ and a small cloud of dust. The dark fae rose from her crouch and folded her wings, a flash of golden misty light heralding her staff. Maleficent glanced at the servant with ice in her eyes. The server, knowing he was now unwelcome, nodded to Elsa and shifted his boat back toward the castle before casting off and rowing away.

Maleficent waited until Agnarr's escort for the princess was a far enough away, then looked to her new student. Elsa stood before her, her body language practically radiating fear. But the girl held herself tall even as she seemed to curl into herself. Maleficent's mouth twitched and gestured for Elsa to follow.

As Elsa followed her Mentor, her thoughts turned from her father's instructions on appearing strong when you feel weak (an invaluable skill for any monarch) to what the fae would teach her. And, more distressingly, _how_ she would teach her. The fae were different from humans, and it was no large jump in logic to assume that their teaching styles would vary differ just as greatly.

After several minutes of following Maleficent into the lower reaches of the mountains, the pair came upon a small clearing. And what was there stole Elsa's breath away. A ring of violet mushrooms, violet webcap she believed, stretched around the confines of the clearing, each cap reaching nearly the height of her chest. The colors were beautiful, and the size was clearly not natural. Another ring of fungus sat within the first, the mushrooms alternating to cover the spaces between. And finally, a third ring sat within the second.

Elsa quickly recalled a piece of lore she had read in the library. The phenomenon before her was a large-scale triple-layered Fairy Ring. These rings of mushrooms were said to grow in places that pixies danced to mark their territory and crossing the rings was said to be, in the eyes of fairies, an offense punishable by great cruelty. What did it mean that Maleficent had brought her here?

"Be calm, child," Maleficent said, "you look as if you'll faint any moment." It was only then that Elsa realized that she was hyperventilating, and that she noticed the frost spreading across the grass from her feet. She idly noticed that the frost refused to come close to the mushrooms before she took a series of deep breaths and calmed herself down. Or at least, more than she was before.

"I'm going to assume that you think you know something about fae magic," Maleficent commented, a slight teasing in her tone. "What do you know of our Rings?" Elsa swallowed thickly and told what she had read. The princess winced, expecting punishment or a rebuke. What she had not expected was … laughter? Soft laughter?

"Oh, foolish mortals," she commented. "The stories they weave to try and explain what they see." Maleficent stepped forward, gesturing for Elsa to follow. As she passed through the rings of mushrooms, Elsa felt a strange sense of … something, as if she were passing through a gentle fall of warm water. It was as comforting as it was unnerving.

Maleficent led the way to the center of the clearing, and therefore the Fairy Rings, and turned to face her. "Before we begin, young Elsa, know that during my lessons your rank does not matter. Here you are not a princess, you are a student. You are _my_ student. And as my student, when I tell you to do something, you will do it without question. Is that clear?"

Elsa swallowed, hesitating only a split second before nodding. "Say it," Maleficent ordered. Elsa grit her teeth and summoned every ounce of willpower she could. "I swear to follow your instructions to the best of my ability," she vowed. If it would grant her control and allow her to spend time with her family again, Elsa would do anything short of selling her soul. Did fairies barter for souls, or was that just demons? Elsa decided she didn't want to find out.

"Good," Maleficent said, "now remove those gloves of yours." Elsa took a step back in shock at the sudden order, her hands tightening in reflex. An arched eyebrow from Maleficent, accompanying the coldness of her eyes, was all it took for Elsa to quickly remove the restrictive white leather. The princess gave an internal sigh as she removed the gloves; the garments were uncomfortable and made her skin itch. And part of her thought that that wasn't just the strangeness of the leather - it was her magic straining for release. Elsa tucked the gloves into her belt and looked back to the Mentor.

"Very good," Maleficent said, though her tone implied the words were little more than a formality. "Now unleash your powers upon me." Elsa audibly gasped, reflexively clutching her arms against her chest. "Remember your oath, child," Maleficent snapped. "Do as I say. Attack me!" Elsa felt tears come to her eyes as she resisted her innate desire to uphold her word. Maleficent's gaze narrowed and a sense of raw _danger_ descended upon the Ring.

"Very well. If you will not attack on command," the dark fae's wings flared in an aggressive action, "then you will do so in defense." Maleficent splayed the fingers of her left hand, green fiery light curling from it, and lashed it forward, releasing streams of emerald magic. Elsa shrieked and flinched away. But no searing heat came, only a wave of force that knocked her lightly to the ground. Galvanized by adrenaline, Elsa quickly leapt to her feet with the agility of a child and gaped at the shards of ice that littered the clearing.

Maleficent took a brief moment to consider what had happened. Most who watched would have thought Elsa's magic had acted independently to conjure a barrier of ice in Elsa's defense, as if it had a kind of awareness all its own. Maleficent knew that it was really Elsa who had done so; her powers, while not self-aware, were inexorably tied to every part of her—body, mind and soul. Her subconscious had acted, linked to her powers just as it was to her muscles and bones, in the way an average mortal flinches from a punch.

Maleficent shook off her introspection and forced her dark, aggressive, green magic into the earth, taking hold of roots within the soil. The roots, strengthened and animated by her power and grown to the thickness of tree trunks, broke free from the ground and lashed out at Elsa. The princess spun out of their way, the instinctive movement coming naturally and gracefully, and held her hands up. "Stay away!" she cried, blue power lancing out to strike the roots and turn them to solid ice that shattered under its own weight.

More roots came her way, weaving like serpents before the kill. Thinking quickly, and unburdened by thoughts of guilt and fear that were swept up in the tide of battle, Elsa shot her power upon the ground, spikes of ice shooting up to pierce the roots and hold them in place. Her fear-filled gaze narrowed to determined slits as she glanced around, instinctively on the alert for movement that would herald a further attack.

She caught a flicker of movement from the corner of her eye and lashed out with her power. What had seemed a root dissolved into mist, allowing the full force of Elsa's magic to fly past … and shatter against nothing. The air seemed to ripple where her power had broken apart, like the small waves from a stone tossed in a pond. A quick glance down proved that the unseen barrier was parallel to the ring of mushrooms.

Elsa flinched back, arms raised once more, at the sound of wood creaking, only to find the attacking roots, wrapped in threads of golden magic, slowly retreating to the ground. Maleficent stood, wings folded and magic flickering off her fingertips, as calmly as if the last few moments hadn't happened. Within a matter of heartbeats, the roots were gone and the ground and grass were restored as if nothing had changed.

"Now you see, my student?" Maleficent asked airily. Elsa blushed and looked down, hands clasped before her with regret. "When I tell you to do something," the fae continued levelly, "I do so for a reason. I may not be old among my kind, but I am powerful and rather knowledgeable." Maleficent approached Elsa with a smooth, even gait until she loomed over the princess. "If you are going to learn what you must, then must learn to trust me." Maleficent's lips twitched in a brief, wry grin. "Or at least trust that I will uphold my duty." Her eyes turned cold again. "Am I clear, Elsa?" she asked.

Elsa nodded without a word, gaze lowered in shame. Maleficent remained silent for a moment longer, allowing the girl to stew in her shame, before clearing her throat for attention. When Elsa looked up, Maleficent smiled down at her. "Unwillingness aside, you did quite well." Maleficent's fingers twitched and gold sparks mixed with fog arose to form images of their mock-duel. Elsa gazed in both wonder and fear at what she had done, how easily she had moved and attacked.

"You have great potential, Elsa," Maleficent commented, the images fading away. "And in the coming years that talent will only grow." The duel had confirmed what Maleficent had previously suspected: Elsa already had more raw power than the average fae, and her control was remarkable for someone so young. After Maleficent taught her to control her fear, to understand that her powers were only as dangerous as she wished, she would move on to further control, to greater refinement. And then they would move to application, a prospect that the dark fae had to admit she was looking forward to.

"Before we finish for the day," Maleficent said, "there is one other thing." Maleficent knelt to eye level with the princess. "Which hand do you write with, Elsa?" Elsa blinked in surprise at the question before lifting her left hand. Maleficent narrowed her eyes and instead took the girl's right arm in her fingers, lifting the sleeve of her dress to reveal the pale skin beneath. Holding the girl's wrist in her left hand, she held her own right above the skin. Warm golden magic emerged from her left to encompass Elsa's forearm, and green from her right to trickle down in vibrant tendrils.

The threads of green magic wove together before descending upon Elsa's arm, the skin darkening where the green caressed the flesh. The gold magic seemed to numb the princess, preventing the green from causing her pain even as her darkened skin began to emit wisps of smoke.

After a few moments, Maleficent ended her ministrations, her magic fading away like fog on a hot day. Elsa gazed in awe at the image her Mentor had left on the underside of her forearm, that of an elaborately stylized, almost Celtic, crocus flower, much like the emblem of Arendelle. Elsa hissed as the pain from what she now realized were burns suddenly flared up, drawing quick tears to the girl's eyes.

And, as if in response, the dark lines of the tattoo began to glow blue, tongues of mist rising from them like from cold metal on a hot day. Elsa sighed as relief seemed to wash over her arm and the light faded away, leaving faintly blue lines in their wake, like a faint scar dyed the color of the sky. Like a real tattoo.

"What is this?" Elsa asked. She had read that fairies who befriended (or far more often, employed) humans would leave a mark on them, a message to other fairies that that particular mortal was under their protection. And yet, Elsa felt in her gut that there was more to this act than a mere branding.

"The answer is twofold," Maleficent said. "Firstly, the magic infused within this Marking is a warning to other fae that you are my student, and therefore under my protection." _Well, at least I was half-right_ , Elsa thought. "Secondly, the Marking acts as a kind of fetter to your full power. It will react to my mental commands, and eventually yours, and restrain your magic if you unleash too much or it becomes too wild." Maleficent's lips curled into a faint smirk. "It will allow you to tap into your powers with measure until you learn proper control."

Elsa's eyes widened in surprise as she looked back down at her arm. It was like the gloves, only … better. She could use her powers without fear of them getting out of control. Emotion that Elsa couldn't name rose in her chest and she threw her arms around Maleficent's waist in a fierce hug. Maleficent stiffened at the contact before awkwardly patting the girl on the head. Physical affection had never been her forte, even with the relative progress she had made thanks to Aurora and Rose.

"Thank you, Maleficent," Elsa sobbed. The dark fae gently removed Elsa's arms from around her and took a step back.

"During lessons, you will call me 'Mentor'," she scolded lightly. "Is that clear?" Elsa wiped her eyes and nodded.

"Good," Maleficent said. "Then the lesson for today is over." Maleficent turned and led the way back to the fjord's shoreline. "Come along, Elsa," she called.

"Yes, Maleficent," Elsa answered with a mischievous grin. She had said to call her "Mentor" during lessons, but the lesson was over. Maleficent's lack of a reply only confirmed that it was alright. They passed through the Rings again, and Elsa realized their purpose. They were a barrier to contain her magic, to prevent wanton destruction as she learned. In a way, they were a safe haven.

As they returned to the shore, Elsa gazed at the castle before glancing at the salt water lapping against the shore. "Maleficent, how do I get back home?"

"When you attain greater mastery, you will be able to freeze the water to walk upon it and thaw it as you pass," she answered. "Until then …" she trailed off with a wicked grin before scooping Elsa into her arms, "you will have to fly." Maleficent unfurled her wings and shot into the air, leaving behind Elsa's surprised shriek.

* * *

After the King and Queen had watched Elsa cross the fjord, Iduna had taken Agnarr's arm and drawn him back toward the castle. "Let's have our lunch outside, today, with Anna," she suggested, forcing cheer into her voice. Inside, she was as nervous as Agnarr, but she refused to let that show. It would only agitate her husband more. Agnarr had hesitantly agreed.

Within minutes, thanks to Iduna's secret preparations, the royals had sat down with Anna for a meal in the fresh air of one of the castle gardens. Iduna smiled widely at the sight of Anna chasing Diaval, the raven standing still until she reached a few feet away before fluttering away for the process to be repeated.

Iduna glanced at Agnarr and her smile faded. Agnarr was glancing vaguely north, toward where they presumed Elsa would be. His eyes were unfocused even as his brow was lowered in thought. Iduna placed her hand on his, but he reciprocated the action only out of habit. His expression didn't even flicker.

"Papa?" Anna asked. Iduna jumped in surprise; the queen hadn't heard Anna approach. Iduna's eyes widened as she reexamined that line of thought: she hadn't heard _Anna_ approach. As the queen went through these thoughts, Anna's innocent question had drawn him from his thoughts and he glanced down at her. Both parents noticed Diaval standing on the child's head at the same time, and Iduna stifled a chuckle at the simply ridiculous sight.

"Are you okay?" Anna asked. There was an equal amount of concern and sheer genuine curiosity about the question, a feat that only a young child could achieve. Agnarr smiled and scooped Anna into his lap, but before he could answer, Diaval cried out and took off, flying smooth circles around the table.

Anna felt the same tingle from the day before, like static cling running up her spine, and looked up to see the faint outline of Maleficent's wings. "Hey, look!" she cried out, pointing out her discovery. As the royals focused on the tiny outline, the wings seemed to fade away. Then the outline began to grow, steadily. Agnarr stood as if struck by lightning as he realized what was happening. Maleficent was diving! But where was Elsa?!

The figure continued to grow as Maleficent drew nearer, eventually close enough for the family to realize that she was spinning, her wings tucked in as she whirled like a rifle bullet. Amere seconds before she crashed into the ground, Maleficent flared her wings, revealing Elsa in her arms, and caught the air to slow impossibly fast. A single beat of her wings settled the fae woman to the ground with surprising grace.

Only when Maleficent had landed did another sound hit the stunned family: laughter. Elsa was laughing. Full-bellied, side-stitching, tear-jerking laughter. A true laugh like Elsa hadn't laughed for quite some time, even before the Accident. "Again! Again!" Elsa shouted before dissolving into another fit of giggles. Finally, she sobered up and wriggled her way free of Maleficent's grasp to land lightly on the grass.

Anna wasted no time before running to Elsa for a hug, one that the elder sister returned with all of her strength. Agnarr and Iduna traded a surprised glance at Elsa's utter lack of fear. Were Maleficent's teachings taking hold already?

"She still has far to go," Maleficent said quietly, taking a place beside the royals. "I have granted Elsa a temporary respite from lapses in her control. Elsa!" At the princess's turned head, Maleficent gestured for her to approach. Elsa drew nearer and, having a feeling what Maleficent wanted, rolled up her sleeve to reveal her Marking.

"This Marking, infused with a limited supply of my own magic, will counter any outbursts that may arise until Elsa masters her powers," she explained. She felt is was unnecessary to explain why she couldn't simply infuse more magic and leave. This was a safeguard, but an imperfect one. What Elsa truly needed was to understand her powers and learn to rein them in herself. Brief traded glances with both royals showed that they understood. It was, after all, why she was here in the first place.

"Oooh," Anna gasped, eyes wide at the tattoo-like brand. Elsa giggled, both at Anna's expression and in a small flare of pride. The elder princess had secretly admired the tattoos that sailors bore and had on some level wished she could get one when she was older, even when she knew that Papa would never allow it.

"Elsa," Maleficent said, drawing her student's attention back to her. "Tomorrow, three hours past sunrise, you will return to the Clearing and we will begin your training in earnest. Is that clear?" Elsa smiled and nodded to her Mentor.

"Your Majesties," Maleficent nodded to the king and queen. "Princess," she faintly smiled at Anna, before flaring her wings and taking off, Diaval close behind. The royal family watched as Maleficent flew toward the mountains, no doubt returning to her temporary home. Her nest? Roost? King Agnarr filed that question away to research later.

At the touch of Iduna's hand, Agnarr brought himself back to the present to see his daughters finally playing together, just as they had before. He didn't miss that elsa still refrained from using her powers, but it was a definite step forward. Agnarr called the girls over and knelt to address them at eye-level.

"How would you girls like to go to town today? I hear that the bakery has stocked a new confection today, called 'chocolate'?" He grinned mischievously. "Are you two up for a taste test?" Both Anna and Elsa gasped and lunged to hug their father, agreeing quite loudly and persistently, as if he would miss their answer.

Agnarr laughed and took Elsa's hand, Iduna taking Anna's and the royal family started toward the gates. Agnarr had a feeling that things were going to get even more unusual from this point on. And he wanted to dote on his girls as much as he could until then.

* * *

Far in the mountains, Maleficent strode through the wards surrounding the Valley of Living Rock, the thickly woven strands of magic acting as a net for those who attempted to enter with magic and without invitation. Even Maleficent's wings would not allow her to pass, the thrill of flight too closely connected to her own powers. Elsa was not the only one whose magic was connected to her emotions, after all.

As she strode on, Diaval continued to lay out his observations about Anna from the day before, as well as during Elsa's first lesson. His theories, she had to admit, were quite sound. Her familiar, it seemed, had developed a keen understanding of magic in the time he had known her.

"And what do you think the extent of young Anna's 'alterations', should there be any, could be?" Maleficent asked.

"Oh, they're definitely there, Mistress," he assured. "They may not be as flashy as Elsa's powers, but they're there." Maleficent's quirked eyebrow pointed out that he hadn't answered her real question, which drew a quick smirk from the Avian. Maleficent was curious by nature, and he knew better than anyone that that very trait could eat away at her if it wasn't sated. Sometimes it was just too fun to simply play along. He waited until his mistress's eyes flashed before deciding she had suffered enough. And that he was treading too close to danger.

"I think that Anna's 'experiences' have rendered her sensitive to the presence and state of magic," he revealed.

Maleficent's eyes narrowed in thought. Sensitivity to magic was common in the fae races, moreso among some types than others. Maleficent herself had an above-average sensitivity to magic, which she personally believed to be more of a side effect of her own great potential than a truly inborn trait.

What was rarer, though not exactly uncommon, was a human who was developed such a trait, whether at birth or by other means. Such sensitives among humans came in various "flavors". Most manifested this trait as a singular specialized ability in magic. Examples of such included as empaths who could unconsciously perceive the emotions of others, Mediums who possessed a natural link to the spirit realms, or dowsers who had a supernatural skill to locate things, such as sources of water, buried metals or gemstones, or locations rich in natural magic.

A few sensitive humans from across the ages had even grown into seers and oracles, with an innate sense for the patterns of the future.

If Diaval was right, and Maleficent saw no reason that he wasn't, then Anna may very well have become a Sensitive. What effect had or would manifest was unclear, which was why the pair were visiting the trolls. Maleficent prided herself on her broad range of expertise, but she was still young among the fae, and even by human standards.

Pabbie, on the other hand, was among the oldest and wisest of the fae. Not to mention the fact that he had examined Anna himself, even if such an action was more focused on removing magic and then judging her state of health, rather than any side effects. If anyone could predict Anna's possible condition, it was him.

Finally, the duo emerged from the mists that surrounded the Valley. The rocks, unlike upon the arrival of the Arendelle monarchs days before, immediately responded to them. The trolls unfolded from their dormant forms and began whispering to each other. Maleficent almost felt the grin tugging at Diaval's lips at the sight of such creatures.

Not by magic. She merely knew him too well.

After a few minuted, the trolls began to part for their leader, who in turn was shadowed by a pair of mated trolls, likely his child and child's mate, as well as … a human boy? Maleficent brushed aside her curiosity until later.

"Guardian Maleficent," Pabbie greeted with a sagely smile, "to what do I owe the pleasure? And so soon after your arrival."

"I thought you might wish to know that young Elsa's first lesson went well," she informed. Pabbie's quirked eyebrow showed that he knew that was not the only reason. Maleficent bit back a faint growl of irritation; when had she become so easy to read? Then again, to someone with Pabbie's experience, perhaps she shouldn't be surprised. "And my familiar has some … concerns about her sister."

Pabbie looked to diaval, who knelt to address the troll king. "Wise shaman, I have spent some time with Anna and, even in such a short time, I think that recent events have had unforeseen consequences."

Pabbie glanced away, his eyes narrowed in thought as he searched his memories. Unlike humans, whose minds tended to wear away as they aged, the minds of the fae only grew stronger over time. And for one as old a Pabbie, that resulted in nearly perfect recall. Pabbie relived his "procedure" on Anna, recalling the feel of magic within her and the feel of her life energy after. As he concentrated, he did recall an abnormality.

"I believe you are right, Avian," he conceded. "Keep an eye on the princess until her abilities begin to manifest, and we will proceed accordingly."

Diaval swallowed and glanced to Maleficent before wincing to Pabbie. "I think they already have," he said.

 **Sorry about the wait, y'all. Mini-vacation and lack of motivation are a painful combo. Hope this chapter makes up for it.**

 **Fun fact, fairy rings are a real piece of folklore. And they actually happen! Some species of mushroom grow in circular patterns, whether around trees or in fields. People saw this and thought that fairies were behind it, and crossing such places really was considered an insult. ^In this AU, these Rings are used by the fae to act as barriers for magic, whether to protect a specific object from stray magic or intruders or for practice grounds, such as the Rings for Elsa. They can also be used as prisons for malicious fae, which _may or may not_ have place in this fic. *Wink***

 **For those of you who don't like "Anna-empowered" fics, I planned on having this happen from the beginning. There really is lore about the actions of fairies causing side effects on humans. Some were dangerous, some granted power, and some were just odd-looking. I like that idea and decided to run with it. And the "powers" I described are all based on folklore as well (pretend-dowsing was featured at the beginning of the film "Coraline"). Anna's "abilities" will emerge in time.**

 **As always, I hope you guys like it. Please leave a review! It makes my day hearing what you all have to say!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The next day, just as Maleficent had ordered, Elsa strode through the Rings surrounding the Clearing for her lessons to continue. Maleficent herself was waiting, her back to the princess and her posture utterly still. If Elsa hadn't known better, she would have thought the fae was a statue. Elsa smiled and held her hands crossed over her waist as she waited for Maleficent to begin.

After a few minutes, Maleficent shook herself and turned to address her student. "Today, young Elsa, we will be going over some basic exercises to help you maintain control of your magic should it begin to act out." Elsa frowned for a moment at her Mentor's news, but nodded. Maleficent's eyes narrowed at the sight.

"You have concerns?" she asked. Elsa swallowed thickly before nodding. When Maleficent stayed silent, Elsa took that as her turn to speak.

"Papa told me to 'conceal it, don't feel it'. He said to hold it in like a river behind a dam." Elsa winced as she did just that, a faint pressure building up beneath her skin as if her magic were straining to escape the mere attempt to hold it back. "I can do that, but … I don't like it. And I don't think my magic does, either."

Elsa started at the sound of the trees around them creaking, curling away as if from some great force. The ground began to tremble, throwing the girl a bit off balance. Elsa gasped as she noticed faint wisps of smoke curling from the grass at Maleficent's feet, a circle of blackened and rotted greenery steadily growing outward. And through it all, Maleficent's gaze was unfocused, as if she were lost in thought.

And like a candle snuffed out, it all stopped.

Maleficent closed her eyes and released a deep breath, her grasp on her staff relaxing. She opened her eyes to look upon her pupil. "That, Elsa, is what happens when I try to 'conceal'. I have never, in my life, tried to forcibly cage my magic, as if it were some fearsome beast with a mind of its own." Maleficent's eyes widened as she recalled an observation from the previous day.

"Elsa, I want to make something clear." The fae knelt fell to one knee to address the princess eye-to-eye. "Your magic is merely an extension of yourself. It is alive only in the way that all magic is, but it is not conscious in any way." She took Elsa's hand in her own. "Your magic is connected to you and reacts to you in a way that no mere human can understand. What you feel when it wishes to break free from shackles is your own will, your will to remain free."

Maleficent's gaze hardened as she tried to impress her lesson upon Elsa. "Such things are not the answer, Elsa. Repression is not only foolish, but dangerous. Such as thing will merely build up behind that barrier, always straining as your heart yearns for freedom. And one day the dam will break, and all of that built-up power will be released at once." The fae's gaze softened once again. "Do you understand?"

Elsa swallowed thickly before she nodded. Maleficent blinked in reply and stood back up. "Control of magic, real control, is synonymous with control of self," she explained. "And control of self will only come with practice and discipline." Elsa nodded in understanding, her eyes hard with determination.

"However," Maleficent continued, "mere discipline will result only in the same result as your father's words. As in all things, you must have balance. Discipline and harmony. Light and darkness. Heat and cold. All opposites that cooperate to create balance." Maleficent smiled. "You must be aware of yourself, Elsa. But never forget that you are also human. You must have times to calm down. Or to, as you humans say, 'cut loose'."

Maleficent raised her hand, palm up, and it filled with undulating tongues of green power. "We will begin meditative exercises in a moment. But until then," the ground began to shake as before, "let us cut loose."

Elsa stared at her Mentor, eyes wide as saucers, for a handful of moments. Then she grinned and breathed deeply. Her magic heeded her call and her hands began to emit cold fog, frost gathering on her skin.

This was going to be fun!

* * *

As the sun rose higher into the sky, Anna hummed a tune to herself as she walked with her Mama, Diaval in his human form strolling at her other side and a pair of guards on either side of them. Elsa had her lessons and Papa was cooped up in boring meetings all day (poor Papa!), so Iduna had invited Anna to come with her on her weekly stroll through town.

Anna, of course, couldn't say yes fast enough.

Anna's head darted back and forth as she tried to take in everything at once. No matter how many times she saw the city of Arendelle, something new was going on, or arriving, or had simply appeared. Anna was a little disappointed that Elsa couldn't be here, but she knew how important her sister's lessons were.

As the day rolled by, Iduna spoke with a number of aldermen, officials elected by the citizens to act on their behalf to the Crown, as well as several merchants. They spoke of goods coming in and out of port, threats on the seas, and the market in general. Anna tended to tune out these conversations and simply look around, either at the buildings or the people passing by, all the while swinging her arm in her mother's grasp, tapping her foot, swaying her hips, anything to move.

Several times throughout the morning, people had cast glances at Diaval, ranging from wary to simply curious. Anna had, somehow, overheard mentions of the almost ritualistic scars across his face and exposed chest (which in itself garnered attention) or at his strange leather clothes. Anna had a feeling some had even simply sensed that there was something different about him.

As Iduna finished a discussion with another alderman, she looked down at Anna, sensing the girl was getting restless. "Anna, how about some lunch?" she asked. Anna visibly brightened at the mention of food and took the lead, "dragging" the laughing queen behind her.

Anna giggled all the way as she lead her Mama and Diaval to their favorite inn. As the small procession approached the inn, the doors swung open to let out a young boy being cast out. An old, cranky-looking man stomped out, his face red. "And stay out, ye little faerie spawn!" he shouted.

"Hey!" Anna shouted, jerking her hand from her Mama's grasp, "it's not nice to throw people!" The old man turned his glare to Anna, but the young princess remained resolute. "Name-calling is not nice, either!" She pointed to the boy that had been thrown out. "Now apologize!"

The old man growled and, faster than he looked, grabbed Anna by the arm. "I'll teach you little-" The old man grunted as the guards moved like lightning, one grasping the man's arm with fierce strength, the bones audibly cracking until he let go with a cry, and another coming up from behind to force the man to his knees. The two others moved to surround the queen, Diaval gently drawing Anna back to them.

The old man struggled until he realized that it was the queen who stood before him, a fierce glower darkening her lovely features. The man, his red face now pale as a sheet, swallowed thickly and bowed his head, blubbered apologies spilling from his lips. Iduna looked to the guards and gave a slight nod, to which one produced a pair of shackles and bound the man's wrists before escorting him to the castle for trial and punishment for attacking a member of theroyal family.

The business taken care of, Iduna glanced down to her daughter, only to find Anna gone from her side. The queen cast a furtive gaze around before she realized Anna was standing before the boy who had been cast out. The queen moved to retrieve Anna, but a hand on her shoulder stalled her. She glanced at Diaval, who had been the one to stop her, as he looked upon the situation with … expectancy.

Anna herself stooped to help the boy up, all the while her gaze not leaving his face. A face that looked very familiar. Upon reaching his feet, the boy gently jerked from her grip, brushing off his shoulder and turning away. But Anna had seen the tears threatening to fall. The boy glanced back at her, and like lightning she remembered where she had seen him before.

He was the boy who had been at the Troll Valley. The blond boy who had waved at her.

"Thanks," the boy said, a bit tersely, and turned away to approach a young reindeer attached to a simple, tiny sled.

"Wait," Anna called, rushing to catch up, "what did that old meanie mean?" The boy simply narrowed his eyes at her, rubbing his arm in discomfort. Before he could reply, the reindeer calf approached Anna and sniffed at her dress before licking her hand, drawing a giggle from the redhead.

At the sight of the calf liking her, the boy seemed to relax and patted its side. "The old coot just thinks I'm cursed, is all," the boy muttered. Anna blinked at him, at a sudden sense of warmth seeming to roll off of him. Like the warmth she felt inside when she looked up at the sky when it was Awake. The feeling passed, but she smiled at it. At him.

"I don't think you're cursed," she caught herself saying. "I think you're nice, but you don't know it." Anna had several times heard Gerda, her and Elsa's nanny, talk to other maids about how little boys could be nice and just not realize it. "Would you like to eat with us?" The boy's eyes widened and he took a step back.

"I can't go in there," he said, almost panicking, "you heard what the old man said!"

"My Mama's the queen," Anna said brightly. "If she says you can go in, you can go in." She turned to Iduna. "Right Mama?" she asked. Iduna looked at the boy before her. He was still holding his arm as if in pain, his tears held back by sheer stubbornness. She looked back to Anna, whose eyes seemed twice their size in a puppy pout.

"Let's go talk to the owner," Iduna conceded with a smile. Anna beamed and grabbed the boy's arm to drag him along with as much strength as her five-year-old body could summon. Diaval cackled as he followed after them, clearly enjoying the situation. Iduna herself had suppress a chuckle.

When the queen, princess, and their new guest had settled, Iduna asked for their usual order before speaking to the innkeeper, Master Josef. The innkeeper had assured the queen that he'd had nothing to do with the situation and that the boy was welcome. Apparently the old man, simply known as Mel, was a frequent nuisance among the taverns of Arendelle. The boy had come in with a group of ice harvesters and Mel had singled him out for his drunken ire, spitting insults at the boy about "faerie spawn" and "earthy curses" and "changelings" before taking the boy and tossing him out before any of the older harvesters could stop him.

Iduna looked back at the boy, named "Kristoff", with compassion in her eyes, keeping a close eye throughout their meal. Anna tried unceasingly to engage the boy in conversation, but even with Diaval's cunning help, the boy barely spoke. Of course, for Anna, that wasn't much of a problem. The princess could talk the ear off of a statue. And through it all, Iduna noticed the boy slowly relax, a faint smile on his lips before the meal was done.

As the group left, Anna begged Kristoff to come with them, but the child shook his head with his back to her. "I've got work to do," he said simply, finished harnessing his reindeer calf "Sven" to the small sled. But before Kristoff had a chance to leave, Diaval pointedly cleared his throat and knelt to address the boy.

"Work you say? How about an arrangement," the Avian offered with a wry grin. Kristoff's eyebrows rose in curiosity. Unbeknownst to the queen or princess, he had immediately recognized the man from his visit to the Valley home of his new friends. If Pabbie respected the man, and Kristoff had a feeling that the old troll did, maybe his words weren't a waste of time.

"I'm listening," Kristoff replied evenly. Diaval grinned wider at the boy's attempt to seem nonchalant.

"You mine whatever ice you can and bring it to the castle," he pointed in the direction of the building, visible in the distance, "and I'll pay you fairly for it. No haggling and a guaranteed payment." Kristoff's eyes narrowed. One thing he had learned from watching the older harvesters sell ice was that if an offer sounded too good to be true, it probably was.

"What's the catch?" he demanded. Diaval barked a laugh.

"You have to visit Princess Anna, as thanks for her for sticking up for you when she didn't need to." He glanced over his shoulder at Iduna. "And it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to thank the queen for treating you to lunch," he added.

Kristoff glanced at Anna, who was almost shaking with anticipation. Then he looked up at the queen, waiting patiently. The boy sighed and approached the queen, bending at the waist in an awkward attempted bow. "Thank you for your kindness, Your Majesty," he said.

"Not at all, Kristoff. It was my pleasure," Iduna replied. Kristoff blushed and turned to address Anna.

"Friends?" he asked, offering a hand. He yelped as Anna latched onto it with both hands and shook with all her might before throwing her arms around him in a hug, giggling all the while. When she finally let go, Kristoff backed away with wide eyes, as if rethinking this whole arrangement. He took Sven's bridle and led the reindeer away, though not before nodding to Diaval and directing another clumsy bow to the queen.

"Bye!" Anna shouted, waving at Kristoff as he was slwly swallowed by the crowd. Anna waited a moment before latching onto Diaval's leg in a fierce hug.

"Now what's that for, Princess?" he asked amusedly.

"For helping me find a friend! Now Elsa and I have another person to talk to!" Before Anna could launch into a surely-lengthy ramble about how great everything would be, Iduna called both of them back to the guards to return to the castle.

As the group made their way back, Anna hummed another song, happily swaying to her own music as she held her Mama's hand. To her, this day had been one of the best ever! She'd helped someone, which was always good. And she'd made a friend! The only thing that could have made it better was if Elsa and Papa were here too. But, as Kai often said, you had to take the good when it came instead of wishing for more.

As she and her Mama and Diaval passed through the gates, Anna couldn't help but wonder what Elsa was doing right now.

* * *

Elsa huffed and puffed, her normally perfect posture slack with exhaustion, as she wiped the sweat from her brow. Cold had never bothered her, but she had as little resistance to heat as everyone else. But heat wasn't the problem, now. Merely sheer fatigue.

The clearing was filled with ice, from mounds of powdery snow to sheets of ice, from massive icicles to shattered ice sculptures. Maleficent had urged her to use her powers in every way she could consider, and Elsa had taken the opportunity to do as she said and more. She had spent the morning, and most of the early afternoon, experimenting with not just the limits of her power, but the applications.

And now, she was feeling the effects. She felt as if she had run up and down the great staircases of her home all this time.

A few yards away, Maleficent stood with her back straight and her wings folded, seemingly unaffected by the frightening amounts of raw power she had been hurtling at the unseen shield that contained their magics, kept them from spreading and destroying the forest itself. But, even as tired and spent as she was, Elsa missed little.

The princess saw how pale her Mentor had become, even more so than usual, her skin almost the color of ash. The blue of the veins under her skin was more prominent, forming a faint crosscross across her neck and arms. And her eyes held a faint glow, as if she hadn't the energy to contain the light.

Maleficent shook herself, the movement suspiciously like a tremble, and gestured for Elsa to approach. The princess knelt before her Mentor, mimicking the fae woman's position. The princess briefly remembered an illustration of this sitting position in a book from the Orient, but brushed it off.

"As I am certain you have guessed, Elsa, this exercise was not just for fun," Maleficent started, a quick smirk twitching at the side of her mouth, "even though it was a part of it." Elsa smiled and nodded in confirmation; she had, indeed, realized that.

"The reasons for this exercise were three-fold. One was to allow me to measure the raw magic at your disposal. And," her eyes narrowed in thought, "I must admit I am rather impressed. You possess a greater reservoir of magic than even most fae at your age. And," she warned, "it will continue to grow as you do." Elsa nodded in understanding, a part of her already considering the implications of her Mentor's words.

"The second," Maleficent continued, "was to drain those reserves." Maleficent's gaze turned hard, icy. She was impressing a lesson, now. "You feel it, don't you? The weariness that seeps into your very bones?" Elsa swallowed as she focused inward and realized what her Mentor meant. She was _more_ than tired; she was almost in pain. The girl felt a dull ache seeping into her, almost burning. And it stretched throughout her body, though was most concentrated in her arms and even more in her _hands_ , all the way to her fingertips. It was faint, yes, but it was there.

"That is magical exhaustion," Maleficent said. "You magic is tied to you, Elsa, as it is in all things who wield it, at the deepest level. It is tied to your very life force. And in humans, to your soul. If you use too much, that ache will grow far fiercer and could take weeks or months to leave you, if it ever does. Taken further, it can and will kill you." Maleficent's eyes were shining brighter, the intensity of her words an almost physical force. Then the glow faded and she relaxed again.

"Though, in all fairness, you have reached only the faintest levels of such drain. And as your powers grow, so will your reserves. I would dare say that at the height of your power, magical exhaustion will come only in the most extreme of circumstances." Maleficent closed her eyes, her wings shuffling like a bird's as it settled in a nest.

"And the third is to make meditation easier." She opened her eyes to look down at her student. "Close your eyes, Elsa," she commanded gently. Elsa did as she was told. "Now, breathe deeply, but slowly." Elsa took a deep breath and let it out. "Slower." Elsa breathed again, held it, and let it out. A sense of calm started to settle over her, like a soft blanket.

"Now," Maleficent continued, "think of those you love. Your parents, your sister. Picture them in your mind's eye." Maleficent hadn't originally planned on focusing on this tactic, but a word from Pabbie, as well as reflection on her relationship with Aurora, Briar Rose, and even Diaval, had encouraged her to do so. "What do you feel?" she asked.

"...Warmth," Elsa replied, her words quiet and unhurried. A soft warmth, like the light of a candle, spread from her heart and throughout her body. As the feeling spread through her, it seemed to tame her magic, to soothe it like ointment on a burn. The icy power ceased its itching for release, settling into the center of her being like a lounging cat.

"Love will thaw," Maleficent, said. "It did so for me, when my heart was hardened by grief and betrayal. As long as you have love, you will never lose yourself." Maleficent sighed, grateful that she had had someone to remind her of that lesson. Hopefully, if the dark fae performed her task correctly, Elsa would never need reminding.

After a few more moments, Maleficent shook Elsa out of her trance and deemed the lesson finished for the day. "I want you to practice this technique every morning, Elsa, before you do anything else. Find a way to measure a half-hour and meditate." Over time, she knew, Elsa would learn to ease the passion of her magic on sheer reflex.

"Yes, Maleficent," Elsa answered dutifully. She thought over methods to measure such time, eventually deciding to ask Papa about a clockmaker in town.

As the teacher and student approached the fjord and sight of the castle, Elsa jogged forward and took a deep breath to summon her magic. During the lesson, Elsa had considered using her magic to build a boat to cross the fjord on her own. Picturing in her mind the rowboat the serving man had used since her first lesson, Elsa released a stream of magic. The ice of the fjord began to freeze, forming an elongated bowl in the rough shape of a rowboat.

Just as Elsa began to step inside, the ice cracked, the fractures rapidly spreading until all that remained were chunks of grey ice. Staring in confusion at the result of her attempt, Elsa's cheeks began to burn at the sound of Maleficent's soft chuckles. The princess folded her arms, posture drawing inward in embarrassment.

"Harder than it looks, isn't it?" Maleficent asked. She herself knew very little about boats and she had little faith in her ability to replicate one. Of course, Elsa need not know that. "Perhaps you should start with something simpler?"

Elsa looked her her Mentor in question before watching the water in thought. Something simpler … Elsa's eyes grew wide as an idea struck her. She breathed again and focused her magic into her palms. With a flick of her wrists, the magic was released in a single burst of icy mist that coalesced into swirling chunks of ice and eventually into a flat, uneven icy surface.

Undaunted by the crude appearance of her work, Elsa clapped her foot onto the ice, focusing her will into the ice and smoothing it. Another step smoothed even more, the ripples growing until they left her creation smooth as glass. With steps far too sure for smooth ice, Elsa spun and wove her magic over the ice, forming contours and etchings that resembled wooden boards and wood grain.

After a handful of moments, Elsa stood upon a raft, its white-blue color the only indication that it was made from anything but wood. Elsa finished her vessel off with a mast in the center, and even a sail woven from frost. A part of her wondered how she had turned ice into working cloth, but she brushed it off. Magic wasn't always supposed to make sense.

Her raft finished, Elsa focused in her magic inside, picturing it as snowstorm. The winds answered her call, the call of Winter, and rose in a strong breeze. The icy sails bulged under the force of Elsa's wind and the raft lurched forward before making headway to the castle, leaving her stunned Mentor on the shore.

Maleficent had to concentrate on not letting her surprise show, but it was a close thing. In a matter of minutes, Elsa had not only created a working vessel, but harnessed the wind on sheer instinct. The princess had uncovered a second aspect of Winter magic with no prior knowledge, without even thinking about it.

As Maleficent spread her wings and leaped into the sky, she resolved to contact Grand Pabbie and learn what she could about Winter's aspects. The dark fae grinned at the thought; this arrangement just became more challenging.

And like all fae, Maleficent loved a challenge.

 **So Anna has made a friend, and Elsa's lessons continue. What lies in store for our favorite princesses? We'll soon find out.**

 **If any of you have potential lessons or things you would like to see, don't be afraid to PM me. Inspiration can come from anywhere.**

 **If you guys liked it, leave a review! Those are what keep me going!**

 **For those of you who are (inevitably) concerned about Elsa's sudden skill with her powers: remember that Elsa in the film created an elaborate palace of ice after presumably no practice, simply by embracing her powers and using prior knowledge of geometry. Clearly, she's a natural - her powers are an extension of herself. And Elsa's skill will only grow with Maleficent's lessons, which will begin to become more specified.**

 **As always, thanks for reading! (Sorry about the delay; adjusting to school.)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

Each day, Maleficent's lessons continued from the early morning until she deemed them over. In between her more traditional lessons on history, reading, mathematics, politics, and the like, Elsa would perform the exercises her Mentor assigned to help her refine her control. Aside from Sundays, which were reserved for church and relaxation, she drilled the princess hard.

It was about three weeks after her first few lessons when Maleficent surprised her with a non-Sunday day off. When asked about it, Maleficent had smirked and replied with a simple, "My familiar could use a break."

When Elsa had told her parents about this, they had taken the opportunity to plan out an excursion into the mountains for a family picnic. Arrangements were made, the royal council informed (even kings deserved a day-off every now and then), and Anna was happy to find that Iduna had contacted young Kristoff to be their guide through the mountains.

Overall, Anna was beside herself with excitement. Kristoff was still a little reserved with her, probably because he had so little experience with people his own age (not that Anna knew that last part), but Anna was as determined as ever to change that. And as with any problem she faced, one of her best solutions was introducing it to Elsa.

Only when they actually met did Anna realize that her plan was flawed. Elsa was naturally reserved with anyone that wasn't Anna, their parents, Kai, or Gerda. That, mixed with Kristoff's own social awkwardness, led to their first meeting being more dull than Anna had imagined. They shook hands and then looked away, unsure of what to do next.

Luckily for Anna, their parents chose that exact moment to announce the royal sled ready to depart. Kristoff actually sighed with relief and climbed into the front of the sled with Agnarr to better guide them. Anna pouted at that, but shrugged it off and climbed in the back seat with Elsa and Iduna.

The trip itself was uneventful, aside from the neverending string of chatter coming from Anna. She gleefully pointed out anything from strangely-shaped rocks and trees to particularly eye-catching flowers and streams. Iduna and Agnarr tried their best to answer any of Anna's questions about the wild, some of which were rather odd (a few even bordering on nonsensical), and Elsa even answered some.

After about two hours of climbing up the mountains, they finally settled in a field Kristoff had recommended, Agnarr himself unhitching the horses and hobbling them to allow them to graze without roaming too far. A beautifully-woven blanket, the work of Iduna's own hands, was lain upon the grass and a large basket revealed, among other things, sandwiches (Anna's favorite), a thermos of green tea (Elsa's favorite), and a box of chocolates (which both girls adored).

As everyone began to settle and eat, Anna looked to Kristoff waiting to the side, sitting on the corner of the blanket and twiddling his thumbs. Anna smiled and offered a sandwich of his own, to which he blushed and nodded his thanks.

"So, Kristoff," Agnarr piped up, "what are your intentions with my daughter?" Agnarr had rely on every iota of his royal training to keep from laughing at the poor boy's yelp and sudden stuttering denials. He kept it up for a few more minutes before Agnarr let his laughter loose, even through a stern glare and slap on the shoulder from Iduna. "It's alright, son. Relax," he assured. "Try not to be so nervous."

Kristoff sighed with relief, but his reply was cut off by a blood-chilling sound. One that Kristoff knew all too well. From the treeline and into the clearing ambled a massive brown bear, roaring at the top of its lungs. The animal's nose twitched as it seemed to smell their food and it broke into a trot toward the royal family.

Agnarr, urged by paternal instinct and reflexes honed from years of martial training, drew the dagger from his belt and lunged for the creature's path to protect his family — but was stopped by the sudden spread of frost across the grass. And as the spreading frost reached the bear, accompanied by a faint gust of wind … it slowed with heavy breaths as if exhausted.

Agnarr looked down to his right to find Elsa standing beside him, her hand outstretched and her eyes squinted with concentration. The frost pulsed with a faint blue glow in time with a heartbeat, and each pulse of light seemed to buffet the bear just a little bit more, drawing it closer to the ground. After less than a minute, the bear collapsed into thunderous snores.

With the threat gone, Elsa wobbled on her feet and fell forward to be caught by her father. Iduna, Anna, and even Kristoff and Sven crowded around to check on her. Iduna felt her face and neck for temperature and checked her pulse at her wrist. "She seems only exhausted," the queen surmised. "But we should get her back to the royal physician, just in case."

Agnarr nodded and looked to Anna, just as the girl crouched down and brushed her hand over the melting frost. "Anna-!" Agnarr shouted, but she tilted and fell to the ground before he could warn her. With Elsa in Iduna's arms, Agnarr reached over and plucked Anna up from the frost, distantly noting that nothing had happened to him when he touched it. Agnarr's eyebrows shot up, and his fears evaporated, at the sound of Anna snoring like the bear in the distance. Not even a second later, her eyelids fluttered and she looked up at him with a wide smile. "Is it naptime already?" she asked groggily.

The king and queen chuckled outwardly, but a shared look revealed identical worries. What on Earth had just happened with their daughters?

* * *

Grand Pabbie smiled as he bestowed a glowing red-orange fire crystal upon a young troll, who took it with awe and bowed in thanks before rushing off to show her parents. With a contented sigh, he cast his gaze over his tribe, particularly over his daughter Bulda and her mate Cliff, who had recently adopted the young Kristoff.

Pabbie's musings were cut short by the sense of something approaching the Valley's wards. His eyebrows shot up at the feel of Maleficent and her familiar approaching, and a few deft twists of his fingers wove openings in the wards for them to pass that closed up behind them. A few moments later, the dark fae once again landed in a rush of air, her familiar alighting on her shoulder.

"Maleficent," Pabbie greeted kindly, "what brings you back to my humble Valley?" Underneath the spoken words were another meaning, Are the princesses alright?

"The princesses are fine, to my knowledge," Maleficent replied with a faint grin. "I've come to discuss an interesting development in Elsa's powers."

Pabbie pursed his lips and nodded, gesturing for her and Diaval to follow. He led them to a small cave lit with multicolored crystals much like the ones he and his tribe wore, though these were either pure white or a deep violet. Crystals of Light and Darkness.

"You've never struck me as someone who requires much guidance, Maleficent," pabbie commented when they had both sat on the cave floor and gotten comfortable. "So I can only presume this matter is somewhat pressing."

Maleficent gave a faint nod. "It seems the child's powers are growing faster than I had expected." With that, she gave a brief account of training insofar before explaining the event with Elsa's raft and summoning the wind. "I still have no doubt about my ability to teach her," Maleficent assured, "but it would be comforting to know what other surprises I might encounter."

Pabbie tapped his finger to his tips in thought. "While I have some experience with Winter magic, given where my tribe lives, I must admit I am no expert on the subject." Pabbie sighed and closed his eyes, meditating on the predicament. After a few moments, his eyes shot open and he smiled. "I stand by my choice in your teaching young Elsa," he said, "but perhaps you both would benefit from the input of a Winter sprite."

Maleficent narrowed her eyes. "And which sprite do you have in mind?"

* * *

As Maleficent flew over the expanse of the forest to return to her nest, her thoughts whirling over the name Grand Pabbie had given her, she was left unprepared for a sudden feeling of cold that washed over her. It was not true cold, not really. Rather than the physical, it was the residual power of strong Winter magic.

Magic that bore the unmistakable sense of Elsa.

Following the psychic cold, Maleficent abruptly dove and landed in a small clearing of the forest. The sense was stronger here, the temperature truly lower than before. Frost crunched under the soles of her feet as she fought to keep from shivering from the combined reality and suggestion of cold.

A thunderous snore caught Maleficent's attention, drawing her gaze to the shape of a great bear, curled up in the deepest of slumbers. Maleficent drew nearer and released threads of her golden magic to prod at the creature, examining its state of being. Her eyebrows rose at what she sensed from it, and after double-checking, a hint of magic awoke the creature.

The bear's eyes fluttered open and it shook off the remains of its lethargy before realizing she was there. The bear growled and roared in challenge. Maleficent scoffed and, with a flick of green magic, sent the bear running with a pain in its backside.

Diaval took that moment to land, Maleficent turning him to his human form out of nothing but habit. "What is all of this, Mistress?" he asked. Sure he, too, could feel the faded sense of power that lingered over this place.

A sign that we must check up on our dear princesses," Maleficent answered.

* * *

Iduna carefully held back any tears that might escape, as her gaze never left her eldest child, her hands never released the small one in her grasp.

As far as anyone could tell, Elsa seemed to only be sleeping. The royal physician had looked her over and found nothing more, even after exhausting his long list of tests. After bidding the physician good day, Iduna had flashed back to the day Elsa had spoken of magical exhaustion.

"If I use too much of my magic, it will leave me tired. And it will make it harder to draw it out. Maleficent said it would take a lot to come to that, and that my reserves will grow when I do, but … the idea frightens me."

Was this some other form of magical exhaustion? Iduna could easily say she had never seen Elsa do something like what she had done to that bear in the forest. Yes, she was happy that her family, and Kristoff, were safe … but at what cost?

Iduna briefly glanced up at Agnarr sitting at Elsa's other side, Anna sitting in his lap and resting her head against his chest. As if sensing the somberness of the room, Anna had been unusually quiet since the physician had left. She simply stared at Elsa with an open and honest look of concern.

A knock at the door drew everyone from their respective stupors, and Agnarr's call of "Enter!" brought in a guard.

"Your Majesties, Her Lady Maleficent has arrived and requests a word," the guard said, his voice strained.

"Send her in," Agnarr replied, his tone tense. That and the repetitive kneading of the hem of his shirt were signs of is temper rising.

The door swung open to allow Maleficent and her familiar into the room. She glanced at each conscious royal in turn before looking down at Elsa. Her wings fluttered and she cocked her head to the side in a vaguely avian gesture. She approached Elsa, gently moving Iduna out of the way.

Maleficent lifted her hand, fingers splayed, and a pair of motes of magic, one golden and the other emerald, emerged from her fingertips. The motes danced around each other before alighting on Elsa's forehead in unison. A brief pause — and Elsa yelped before shooting up into a seated position. "I'm awake!" she shouted, before blinking and seeming to truly take in her surroundings.

"Is everything okay?" Elsa asked.

The answer came in the form of a family group hug, the king, queen, and junior princess all rushing to embrace her and make sure she was truly alright. After a few moments, the family separated, a few sniffles from Anna the only noise in the room.

"Your Majesties," Maleficent said, her quiet tone cutting through the relief in the room, "I flew over a peculiar site on my way back to the castle." In as few words as possible, she described the clearing. "I felt Elsa's distinct magical imprint in the palce," she finished. "Now, tell me everything that happened. Do not spare even the smallest detail."

Agnarr's lips tightened, his royal training causing friction to any order in his own castle, but he swallowed his pride and began the recount. Between husband and wife, with some input from Anna, they told everything that they could. Maleficent glanced at Anna for a moment, her gaze locking with Diaval in a silent note to discuss her involvement later, before she began to explain.

"From what you have said, and my own observations, I believe that Elsa tapped into a new aspect of Winter."

"Winter?" Iduna asked, sensing the subtle sense of magnitude in the simple word. "Isn't that what Elsa has always used?"

Maleficent shook her head. "To those lacking experience in such things, Elsa's magic would seem to be a powerful affinity for ice magic. But from the moment I met Elsa, felt the aura of magic that surrounds her, I knew the truth. Her powers run far … deeper than simply snow and ice." She took a moment to order her thoughts.

"Elsa has an innate affinity for the Power of Winter, a power linked to the nature of the world itself. Ice and snow are the first aspects that come to mind, yes, but there is far more than that. The winds that form a blizzard, the force and fury of an avalanche, the strength that freezes a lake solid. The subtle power that wears mountains to gravel, the unchanging stasis of a snowy forest … the sleep that wraps around many forms of life. This and so much more is the power that Elsa commands."

"Hibernation," Agnarr spoke up, eyes wide. "You're saying that Elsa somehow forced that bear to enter its winter sleep?"

"It would be more apt to say she strongly suggested such a thing," Maleficent corrected gently, "but in essence, yes. This is one of the subtler aspects of Winter."

"Is the bear alright?" Elsa asked.

Maleficent chuckled at her concern — among the fae, such concern was unusual at best. And, sadly, often treated as a sign of weakness. To see it fostered was a rare surprise. "I awoke it when I investigated the site. It will be fine." Elsa sighed with relief.

"However," Maleficent added, "the fact that this has happened is a clear indication of Elsa's progress." If Maleficent were any less secure in her own strength, Elsa's clear aptitude and strong intuition might actually frighten her a little. "Which is why Grand Pabbie and I are calling in an … expert in this particular field to help Elsa learn."

"Another teacher?" Iduna asked.

"More of an assistant, really," Maleficent deflected. "He is an expert in the aspects of Winter rivaled by few, if any. As I work with Elsa's control over her magic itself, he will educate her in the various nuances of Winter." If knowledge was power, then it stood to reason that ignorance was weakness. And Maleficent would not finished Elsa's training at her anything less than her peak.

"Elsa," she looked directly to the princess, "take today to rest, and your usual Sunday off. The morning after, we will resume your lessons. And, hopefully, your secondary instructor will have arrived."

Elsa nodded in reply with a faint smile. Nodding to each of the royals, Maleficent swept out of the room. Diaval waved to all of them and smiled at Anna before taking his own leave.

"Did she say who Elsa's new teacher will be?" Anna asked suddenly. Agnarr and Iduna shared a glance as they realized that, no, she had not.

"It's fine," Elsa said. "I'll find out soon. And even if he's not nice, I'll have Maleficent there, too." With that, she flung off her blankets and ran out the door, calling for Anna to try and catch her. The little redhead laughed as she raced after her sister, leaving their parents to smile in their wake.

But without needing to speak, both knew the others deeper concerns. Who, now, was to be teaching their daughter?

* * *

As the moon rose over the Kingdom of Arendelle, it's bright light shone upon the North mountain as well. And up that treacherous peak trod the small form of Grand Pabbie. After hours of climbing, he reached the sheer rock wall that ended in the pointed peak of the mountain. With a deep sigh, Pabbie placed his hands on the cliff face … and plunged his fingers into the stone, forming an anchor to the earth that he would need during this ordeal.

With an act of will, Pabbie separated his consciousness from his body and sent it hurtling into the sky. To viewers, it would seem a column of Skylights had erupted from the tip of the mountain and struck out to the north. In mere moments, using the eternal cold of the mountain itself as a guide, Pabbie's spirit had entered to domain of one of the most powerful and unpredictable forces known to nature.

 _Pabbie's spirit emerged in an icy tundra far beyond human habitation. Here, winter was not a season. No … Here it was everything. And in such a place, one would clearly find the source of Winter._

 _With the roar of an avalanche, the howl of a blizzard, the thunderous crack of a glacier, Pabbie felt the approach of the very entity he was searching for. An all-consuming wave of wind and snow approached, eager to crush any intruder upon it territory like a gnat. Pabbie focused his magic and summoned a flaring aura of shimmering aurorae that stilled the wave of wind._

 _The wind drew back, just a bit, and seemed to study him. After a moment, the whirling winds condensed and the snow formed the ever-shifting visage of an old man with a heavy white beard. This was a entity, beyond even fairy kind, who had gone by many names. Boreas to the Greeks, Beira to the Celts, Morozko to the Rus, and so many more._

 _But his most fitting name was Old Man Winter._

 _"WHO DARES TO ENCROACH UPON MY HOME?" Winter thundered._

 _"I am Pabbie, of the Valley Hidden in the Rock," Pabbie answered. "Shaman of aurorae, chieftain of the trolls, child of the Earth." The final word trembled around them, the implications of such a thing … vast. "I have come to bargain."_

 _"YOU HAVE NOTHING TO BARTER WITH, SHAMAN," Winter spat._

 _"I have Obligation, Great One," Pabbie replied evenly._

 _The winds seemed to shudder at the word. No one with the experience to know such a word, in all its true meaning, would be foolish enough to lie about it. "AND WHAT OBLIGATION WOULD YOU CLAIM UPON ME, LITTLE STONE?"_

 _"A bearer of Winter magic has been born," Pabbie declared. "A child of Winter as much as humanity. And as her grandfather, you bear responsibility for her actions to the Highest One and His Host." Pabbie grinned. "And I doubt you would enjoy the repercussions of negligence."_

 _The winds stilled, as if Time Itself had frozen in the grip of Winter's icy chill. After a seeming-eon, he replied. "AN EMISSARY WILL BE SENT TO … SHEPHERD MY CHILD. WHEN IT DECIDES SHE IS READY, IT WILL DISSOLVE … AND I WILL HAVE NO PART IN ANYTHING FURTHER."_

 _"Very well," Pabbie conceded. "Your word is your bond, Great One."_

 _"GOOD. NOW … **GOOOOOO!** " Pabbie's spirit was launched from the tundra, hurtling into the sky ..._

Pabbie cried out as his awareness was shoved back into his body, the force of it all blowing him back away from the mountain peak. He bounced a few times before coming to a stop, shakily rising to his feet. He glanced back to find massive craters blown out on the cliff face he had been holding onto. With a shiver and a faint grin, he wrapped himself into his boulder shape and began to roll back down the made it back home, to his people, just as the sun began to peek from the horizon.

And far to north, trekking out from the tundra, came a haunting, light laughter.

 **Finally, a new update! Hard to believe I let this lie for over a year. My sincerest apologies to any and all who follow this story. I can't guarantee continual updates, but nothing like this long stretch of silence again.**

 ***Fun fact: Bears don't technically hibernate. Animals like rodents, who do hibernate, enter an extremely deep sleep that ignores the outside world, and their body temperatures match their surroundings. Bears, on the other hand, enter a state called "torpor" where their temperatures are higher than normal and they can awaken at any time. They still sleep a lot and amass fat to live off of during the winter, but it's still not the same.**

 ***Extending Elsa's magic to encompass "winter" rather than simply "snow/ice" is a personal head-canon. If her magic were only related to cold, she would have frozen everyone in the city around her when she caused the Eternal Winter. Rather, she created a winter wonderland. Plus, she can create snow clouds (Olaf's flurry). And creating life ... that's a completely different set of powers. I also think that it influenced wildlife, such as the wolves that attacked Anna and Kristoff. It forced them into a winter mindset. No healthy wolf will attack a human unless its starving!**

 ***Numerous cultures have an "Old Man Winter" concept, a personification of winter/the northerly wind. (Actually, Beira of Celtic lore is female, but would a personification of a season really care about gender?) For the sake of this world, all of these are cultural interpretations of the same entity. And for the record, Old Man Winter and those like him are not fae. They are something even older. Let's call them Primordials.**

 **Anyone have any ideas about Maleficent's new "assistant"? Let me know your thoughts. And leave a review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

As the sun rose to the halfway point between dawn and midday, it gazed through the trees upon the forms of Maleficent and Elsa, standing at relative attention in the Ring where they always trained. Elsa sighed and looked around before returning her attention to her Mentor. They had been waited for about an hour, and though Elsa's patience was exceptional for her tender eight years, she was beginning to fidget.

"Mentor, where is he?" she finally asked.

Maleficent's answer was interrupted by an ethereal chuckle that seemed to echo between the trees. The voice was light, yet masculine, filled with the glee of a trickster. A burst of wind rolled over the clearing, buffeting the two for a moment before it passed. And not a second after, frost began to gather at the edges of the clearing.

Elsa felt goosebumps rise on her arms, like a normal person would in the cold. But … that made no sense. Cold had never bothered her before. The frost at the edges of the clearing crackled loudly before rushing in across the grass. It crashed against the Fairy Ring and began to _climb_ , the mushrooms faintly glowing and the frost turning to steam before their eyes.

Another laugh echoed through the clearing, and the air that marked the edge of the Ring shimmered, like ripples in a pond. The ripples outlined the shape of a dome, the same height at its peak as the radius of the Ring. A perfect half-sphere. Elsa started as Maleficent gently took her arm, wrapping her wings around the girl as her eyes darted this way and that, her stance tense.

"Hello, there."

Elsa shrieked in surprise, instinctively spinning and firing a blast of magic in the direction of the words. The bolt of magic burst apart and littered the grass as motes of light blue, forming a cloud that hid the source of the voice. Only his silhouette could be seen, a tall, thin shape.

After a few moments, the cloud dispersed to reveal a strange-looking … man? No, Elsa could feel the power that emanated from this figure, power that rivalled and perhaps even exceeded Maleficent's. And yet, for all its depth, the power was familiar. It felt … like her own? Wait, how could she even _sense_ that?

The man appeared to be on the precipice of middle-age and was as tall as Maleficent, not counting her horns, his build lean and corded. His hair, shaggily framing his face, was even lighter than her own, white as fresh snow, as were his eyebrows and the thick stubble that covered his chin and cheeks. The crow's feet at the corners of his piercingly blue eyes hinted that he smiled a lot. His hands and feet were weathered and calloused, each digit ending in a long, squared-off nail. And each nail was blackened, as if frostbitten.

He was dressed in a light grey, unlaced tunic that ended at his knees, leading to brown trousers that were tattered at the ankles. His feet were wrapped in brown bandages that seemed impractical for travel. On his shoulders hung a voluminous blue hooded cloak with silver edging reminiscent of a frosted window, clasped at the throat with a silvery brooch styled like a swirling wind.

And clasped in his hand, propped on his shoulder, was a tree branch. The branch, presumably some sort of staff, was nearly as long as he was tall, its length twisted and sinuous, the bottom rounded into a knob. From the head and upper foot of its length sprouted a growth of evergreen needles, like a pine tree. Elsa's mouth twitched in a brief smile when she realized it made the staff look like a giant paintbrush.

"Greetings, Emissary," Maleficent intoned with a faint bow, her tone just shy of derisive.

"Defender," he greeted with a nod, his voice clearly that of the laughter from before. "Or is it Mentor now? Or is it both — Defender-Mentor? Or Mentor-Defender? I kinda like the sound of that one-"

"Enough," Maleficent interrupted, a faint wingbeat brushing the man with a gust of air. "Speak your purpose, Emissary."

The man pouted. "Oh, you're no fun, dark fairy." He glanced from Maleficent to Elsa, eyes faintly widening. He twirled his staff and planted it into the ground before crouching to address Elsa at eye-level. "So you must be the Daughter of Winter I've heard so much about," said. "Well, I mean, not really _that_ much, just that you're a Daughter of Winter and, you're, y'know, _alive_." He chuckled and frowned, biting the inside of his cheek.

Before Elsa could ask what was wrong, the man leaned forward and … _sniffed_ her. He took her wrist in his hand as if measuring her pulse, briefly glancing over the Marking on her arm, then placed the back of his fingers against her forehead. He sniffed her again and then took her face in his hands, staring into her eyes. They stayed like that for a few moments until Elsa began to grow uncomfortable. Her magic had just started to itch under the skin of her fingers, reacting to her discomfort, when he released her and stood back up, taking his staff and twirling it again.

"Oh, yeah. Definitely Winterborn." He brushed the evergreen of his staff against the ground, frost spreading from where it touched until it reached the edge of the Ring's interior and stopped. "Alright, then. I'm here to educate you on Winter and all it's forms," the man said brightly. "So let's get started." He turned and started for the edge of the Ring.

"Wait!" Elsa cried.

The man stopped and glanced at her curiously. "Yes?"

"What do I call you?" she asked.

The man was silent for a few moments before blowing a raspberry. "Oh, you humans. You have to name everything, don't you?" He laughed and brushed his free hand through his hair. "Well, I guess I don't wanna be called 'Emissary' for the rest of this visit," he groused, "way too formal." He brushed his beard for a moment in thought. "Humans have called me a few things over the years," he noted. "Jokul Frosti has always been my favorite."

He swung his staff across his shoulders and hung his arms over it. "But you can call me Jack. Jack Frost."

* * *

Anna giggled as she tore a piece of bread from the day-old loaf she'd picked up from the kitchens, tossing the piece to a large mama duck and her babies. The ducklings _peep_ ed excitedly and scooped up the treats, their mother watching calmly. Adults probably would have corrected her, but Anna knew deep down that the mama duck knew her, knew she was no threat to her babies.

Anna knelt and held her hands out, prompting the ducklings to draw nearer. One was brave enough to hop into her cupped hands, peeping in greeting. Anna giggled again and rubbed her cheek against the ducklings soft down feathers, like a hug, before setting it back down.

"Having fun, princess?" Diaval asked as he approached.

"Oh yeah," Anna replied, keeping herself quiet to not frighten the ducklings.

"Well, good," he smirked. "That's g-" Diaval froze, eyes wide. Anna looked up at him in surprise before she realized the ducklings peeping had stopped too. She tiny birds sat frozen, their mama just as still. And out of nowhere, she mama duck brushed her babies along and into the pond, all of them paddling as fast as possible to as far away as they could.

"Princess," Diaval said through gritted teeth, "we should probably go, as well."

"Now why would you do that?" an unfamiliar voice asked.

Anna gasped as she got a strange feeling in her tummy, a sense of trepidation. But more than that was the strange feeling of itching between her eyes. Anna turned and gulped at the sight of a strange … cat floating in the air, its wide, turquoise eyes staring at her over an impossibly wide mouth of fangs.

"Good evening, little kitten," he purred.

"Hi," Anna said hesitantly, lifting a hand in a faint wave.

"And Master Raven," the cat grinned. Diaval paled, faintly trembling. "Do tell," the cat said, "why you would deign to flee."

* * *

"So, Maleficent" Jack said brightly, "have you gone over focus tools yet?"

Maleficent, who was walking behind elsa as if herding her along, her staff in hand, sighed through her nose. "No, I have not. Had my curriculum not needed … adjustments, we should have gone over that today."

"Well, no time like the present," Jack laughed. He turned on his heel, walking backward with his arms handing off the staff draped across his shoulders, and looked at Elsa. "So, little lady, what do you think focus tools are? Off the top of her head, gut instinct. Go!" He pointed at her, eyes bright.

Elsa gulped and spoke as fast as she could. "They're tools for focusing?" she stammered.

Jack chuckled. "Okay, good. For focusing _what_ , exactly?"

"Magic?" Elsa hazarded. It seemed like a logical answer. Though how it worked, or even what these "tools" were was beyond her.

"Magical foci," Maleficent started, "are objects Crafted to focus one's power, to use it more effectively." Maleficent stopped. Placing a hand on Elsa's shoulder to stop her as well, and retrieved something from the pouch at her belt. She knelt and opened her fingers to reveal a small, glass lens.

"Watch closely, Elsa," she said, snatching a leaf out of the air. Maleficent pinned the leaf to the ground with a twig, then held the lens over it, turning the glass slowly until a bright point of light appeared over the leaf. After a few moments, the leaf began to smoke, then to slowly char until a hole was burned through it.

Elsa's eyes widened in realization at the trick she had shown Anna less three months ago. The lens, crafted in a gentle curve, was designed to collect and refract light. When sunlight shone through the glass and was focused correctly, the resulting beam of light burned far hotter than normal.

"A focus tool acts for magic much like this lens did for the sunlight," Maleficent explained. "These tools are formed and enchanted — a process known as Crafting — to channel magic and apply it more precisely for any number of tasks." She put the lens away and stood. "I'm sure you are aware of the notion of wizards and witches using wands to cast magic?" she asked. Elsa nodded. "These are but one example of a magical focus."

"And I'm getting one?" Elsa asked hopefully.

"Not as such," maleficent replied coolly. Elsa looked down, ashamed and a bit disappointed. Maleficent grinned. "No, you're going to learn how to _make_ one, and then do so."

Elsa's head shot back up and she gasped, hands clasped, trembling as she tried to contain her excitement. Her Marking actually began to glow as it restrained her powers that reacted to her emotions.

"Maybe she could learn all this _before_ the sun sets?" Jack asked lightly. "C'mon, kiddo. We're burning daylight."

Elsa rushed to catch up, questions rattling off her tongue in rapid succession.

"Hmm, now I see the resemblance to Anna," Maleficent commented.

"What focus will I get?" Elsa asked. "Will it be a wand? Or a ring? Or a bracelet? What will it be made of? Does it matter? Does it-?"

"Easy there, little lady," Jack laughed. "Since all of this is part of wider magic, not just Winter," he gestured back at Maleficent, "you should probably go back and ask your _actual_ Mentor."

Elsa blushed and nodded before jogging back to the dark fairy. "I'm sorry, Mentor," she said formally. "It won't happen again."

"See that it doesn't," Maleficent replied with a faint grin. "Now then, the traditional first focus tool is either a wand or staff. As these are so useful, a fair portion of mages choose to keep to them; but you will not be one of them. I will teach you to Craft foci in all manner of shapes to fit any given situation.

"But for now, we will begin with a short staff."

With that, Maleficent led the way and began explaining the nuances of Crafting, specifically the importance of material used for any charm or talisman, not just a focus. Different woods could intensify the effects of certain magics or could inhibit other kinds. Different stones, metals and gems had differing effects as well. It was important to keep these things in mind when Crafting, as improper materials could make a charm quite effective or render it useless. Then she got into the details of such things.

"How am I to remember all of these different things?" Elsa asked, wide-eyed at the amount of technical knowledge Maleficent was reciting, from how blood-red rubies were conductive to fire power as opposed to how a blue sapphire bore a link to water.

"We will go over such things in far more detail over the course of your lessons," Maleficent replied. "And I expect you to keep detailed notes for the time being. After a few years of experience, much of this will become somewhat intuitive. The resonance of nature with magic is a language unto itself, and I am certain you will pick it up as well as any verbal one."

Of course, gaining such an instinctive grasp of crafting usually took the better part of a decade for mortals, unlike fairies who were born with such knowledge and developed it instinctively. But given her natural inclination toward magic as a whole, Maleficent had no doubt Elsa's learning curve would be quite steep.

"For now, I believe it would be best to ask a certain Winter sprite for his opinion on the material of your first staff," she said, raising her voice to reach Jack, who had fallen behind.

"And who says wisdom is solely for the aged?" he replied heartily, to Maleficent's faint scowl.

Jack planted his staff in the ground, forming a circle of frost, and cast his gaze around, sniffing the air for added measure. The wind blew through the trees, the rustle of leaves a faint music of nature. Turning to the right, Jack wandered along with an apparent destination in mind, prompting the fey and princess to follow.

They walked for some time as Jack ambled through the forest, occasionally brushing his brush-like staff against trees or rocks to paint them with frost. Once, Elsa glanced at a passing tree and reached out to "paint" it as well, but the feeling of Maleficent's gaze made her think twice.

"Aha!" Jack shouted boisterously, causing Elsa to jump at the suddenness. "I knew there was one around here."

Elsa looked up to find a thin-trunked tree with a large, bushy canopy. Drawing closer, she noticed the spiny leaves and knew immediately what it was even without the trademark vibrant red berries. "A holly tree?" Elsa asked.

"Yep," Jack said.

"And why holly, Emissary?" Maleficent asked. Half-rhetorically, for she knew of at least some reasons.

"Well, for one, it's evergreen," Jack answered. He briefly glanced back at Elsa and held out his staff, which she once again noted seemed to have come from a pine. "Evergreen trees are specially suited to channeling Winter magic. Over time, other woods tend to turn black and brittle and shatter, sometimes for no reason at all. But evergreens are adapted to Winter, and so can ride out the rigors of such power."

"So why not a pine, like yours?" Elsa asked.

"First and foremost," Jack said, "you are _not_ me." The words were hard and made Elsa flinch. Jack's posture had gone rigid, but relaxed just as quickly as he had tensed. "And another is that pine is a soft wood, better for a temporary job than a more permanent thing.

"And finally, we have the mystical significance. Holly is associated with the purity of truth — and believe me, nothing is more pure than Winter. Except ... maybe _Summer_." Jack spat the word as if it were revolting. "But even more than that, it represent protection from evil forces. Which, unless I miss my guess," he glanced back at Elsa with a grin, "is exactly why you wanted to formally learn magic at all."

Elsa blushed and looked down, the memory of the night of the accident in the ballroom flooding to the fore of her mind and bringing guilt with it. Elsa started at the feel of Maleficent's hand on her shoulder, drawing her gaze up. Maleficent simply gazed down at her, her expression neutral. Elsa sighed and nodded, letting the guilt wash away.

Such thoughts were poisonous, but only if allowed to be. What happened was an accident, a learning experience. And most of all, Anna was fine.

"Now for the fun part," Jack said, interrupting the moment. "You, princess, get to climb a tree."

"I what?" Elsa asked.

"You didn't think Maleficent or I were just gonna fly up there and grab a branch for you, did you?" he laughed.

Elsa glanced back at Maleficent, more specifically at her wings. Truth be told, that was exactly what she had thought.

"This wood will be used for your staff, Elsa," Maleficent explained. "Everything from the harvesting of the wood, to the carving, Inscribing, and Adorning must be done by you alone."

Elsa glanced down, thinking over her words, and nodded with a resolute look. She strode toward the tree and searched the branches for a suitable one.

"Beginner's tip," Jack noted, "remember to get one that's straight and thick enough to be solid, but thin enough to not be too hard to break off or carve to a good thickness."

"Yes sir," she said. Without thought, Elsa tapped her foot to form a disk of ice beneath her. She spread her hands and, as if lifting something, slowly rose her arms. The disk grew into a column that lifted her into the canopy to search more closely.

"Not bad," Jack commented.

"She is quite gifted," Maleficent noted, pitching her voice to not carry to Elsa. She had no intention of letting the girl get a big head, as even fledgling arrogance could kill as easily as incompetence.

After a few minutes of searching, Elsa settled on a branch that seemed to fit Jack's advice. With a bit of magic, she formed an icicle into a large knife, like the saxes she had seen the sailors at the harbor wear. She reared back to begin hacking at the branch … when she suddenly thought it was a bad idea. She had no idea why, she just … did. Glancing down at the ice-knife, Elsa focused her magic even further to alter the ice itself. She strengthened the ice to be harder than steel and honed the edge to razor-sharpness, the color turning from clear to a deep navy blue. After several minutes, she nodded — it was the absolute best she could do.

With a deep breath, she grasped the branch with one hand, readied her knife hand, and swung at the very end of the branch, where it met the trunk — and the blade sheared through with hardly any resistance.

Elsa yelped as her she completely lost her balance and toppled from the branch she had been standing on. She grunted and yelped as she bounced off of a few lower branches on her way down, too disoriented to try and grab hold of them to halt her fall. As she left the canopy, she winced to brace for impact with the ground —

And landed in a pile of fresh, powdery snow.

Elsa sat up and shook her head, blinking in confusion.

"Well that's one way to climb down a tree," Jack noted, his staff still resting on the grass with a trail of frost linking it to the snow pile. Ah, so it had been Jack who cushioned her fall. Elsa stood on shaky legs and realized that the branch was still in her hand.

"Well done, Elsa," Maleficent said as she approached. "That should make a fine-"

Maleficent left the sentence hanging as her entire body tensed, her wings splaying in surprise. Her eyes hardened and her lips twitched into a subtle snarl. She reached down and scooped Elsa into her arms, branch and all. "I'm sorry, Elsa. We have to cut this lesson short." She looked in the direction of the castle. "Something is wrong." With that, she leapt from the ground, leaving Elsa's startled yell behind them.

Jack Frost watched in surprise at Maleficent's sudden departure, having caught her words. "Well, this can't be good," he groused.

 **First update of 2019! Hope y'all like it!**

 ***For those of you who anticipate a Jelsa ship in this, sorry to say - NOT IN THIS FIC! Firstly, this is NOT the Dreamworks' Jack Frost, but my own interpretation. I have nothing against the Jelsa ship (in fact, I saw it coming from the very first time I saw Frozen in theaters), even if I prefer Elsa with Wreck-It Ralph. **More to the point, Elsa is _EIGHT YEARS OLD_ in this continuity. There will be no romance for her or her sister. Quite possibly none at all, except maybe some shiptease between Maleficent and Diaval. **

***Speaking of, what do y'all think of my interpretation of the folkloric figure Jack Frost?**

 ***I had a lot of fun researching the folklore of different Northern European trees for the wood of Elsa's first staff, which I am excited to write about. **The concept of focus tools was heavily inspired by _The Dresden Files_. **

**What has Maleficent so worried? Who is this "cat" that has come to Anna and Diaval? (Let me know your guess in a PM or comment.) And find out next time. Thanks for reading! R &R!**


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